
Class F6'.Q^ 



'^'■^ NARRATIVE 



OF 



THE EXPLORING EXPEDITIOI 



TO 



THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 

IN THE YEAR 1842, 



AND TO 



OREGON AND NORTH CALIFORNIA 



IN THE YEARS 1843-44. 



BT 

BREVET CAPTAIN J. C. FREMONT, 

OF THE TOPOGRAPHICAL ENGINEERS, 

UNDER THE ORDERS OP COL. J. J. ABERT, CHIEF OF THE TOPOGRAPHICAL BUREAU. 



REPRINTED FROM THE OF^ICIA;, COPT. 



NEW YORK: 
D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 200 BROADWAY. 

PHILADELPHIA: 

GEO. S. APPLETON, 148 CHESNUT STREET. 

CINCINNATI .—DERBY, BRADLEY, & COMPANY, 113 MAIN STREET 

1846. 



^ 



PREFATORY NOTICE. 



The immense region west of the Rocky Mountains, extending to the 
Pacific ocean, and bounded by the Russian frontier on the north, and Cali- 
ibrnia on the south, now attracts so much of popular regard, and is com- 
mingled with so many important national interests, that an accurate and 
minute acquaintance with the general topic is essential to every American 
citizen. 

< Several exploring tours of the western portion of our continent, within the 
geographical boundaries of the wilds now commonly known by the title, 
Oregon, have taken place during the present century. 'President Jefferson, 
in 1804, directed the first scrutiny in that country under the superintendence 
of Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, who devoted the larger part of three years to 
the examination of those trackless forests, and who were the pioneers of 
the movements which arc now extending the limits of civilization, where 
Indians, or deer, bears, or buffaloes only roamed. The second expedition by 
Major Pike to survey the West, forty years ago, was restricted to the eastern 
side of the Rocky Mountains, and consequently communicated little direct 
intelligence concerning the lands, the possession of which is now the subject 
of controversy between the United States and Britain. 

The other subsequent travellers in the western territory confined their 
researches within the country through which the Upper Mississippi and 
Missouri flow ; and therefore imparted no information of any importance 
concerning the Oregon lands, rivers, and other topics of public interest. 

During several years, however,- from 1833 to 1838, Mr. Nicollet, a scien- 
tific tourist, explored a very extensive portion of the western country beyond 
the northern branches of the Mississippi. At the close of his amateur travels,, 
the government of the United States engaged him to repeat his journey in 
another region ; and Captain Fremont was united with him to assist his 
efforts. After an absence of two seasons, they returned and exhibited the. 



if PREFATORY NOTICE. 

result of their discoveries and astronomical observations and topographical 
admeasurements to the government at Washington. 

It being desirable for the Federal authorities to become fully acquainted 
with the state of the territory between the southern geographical boundary 
of the United States and the Rocky Mountains, around the head-waters of 
the Missouri, Captain Fremont was appointed to superintend that exploring 
tour. That enterprising and scientific traveller is now absent on his third 
expedition to enlarge our acquaintance with the western uninhabited districts. 

The ensuing narratives include the Reports of the two tours which have 
already been made by Captain Fremont, as they were presented to the Con- 
gress of the United States, and originally pubhshed by their command ; ex- 
cluding only the portions which are altogether astronomical, scientific, and 
philosophical, and therefore not adapted for general utility. Captain Fremont 
states that the whole of the delineations both " in the narrative and in the 
maps," which constitute the official publication, are " the result of positive 
observation." From a survey of the researches thus presented, it appears, 
that the entire map of Oregon has been amply drawn out, so far as at present 
is requisite for all the purposes of geographical inquiry and national arrange- 
ment. With these claims on public attention, and the deep interest which 
the subject itself now offers, this authentic edition of Captain Fremont's 
extensive and protracted researches in the western dominions of the United 
States, is confidently recommended to the perusal of our fellow-citizens. 

Wbw York, November 11, 1845. 



A REPORT 



AN EXPIX)RATION OF THE COUNTRY 



LTINC BETWEEN THE 

MISSOUM RIYER AND THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, 



ON THE LINE OF 



THE KANSAS AND GREAT PLATTE RIVERS. 



Washington, Marcli 1, 1843. 
To Colonel J. J. Abekt, 

Chief of the Corps of Top. Eng : 

Sir : Agreeably to j'our orders to explore 
and report upon the country between the 
frontiers of Missouri and the South Pass in 
the Rocky mountains, and on the line of the 
Kansas and Great Platte rivers, I set out 
from Washington city on the 2d day of May, 
1*^42, and arrived at St. Louis, by way of 
New York, the 22d of May, where the ne- 
cessary preparations Vv'cre completed, and the 
expedition commenced. I proceeded in a 
steamboat to Chouteau's landing, about four 
hundred miles by water from St. Louis, and 
near the mouth of the Kansas river, whence 
vre proceeded twelve miles to Mr. Cyprian 
Chouteau's trading house, where we com- 
pleted our final arrangements for the expedi- 
tion. 

Bad w^eather, which interfered with astro- 
nomical observations, delayed us several 
days in the early part of June at this post, 
which is on the right bank of the Kansas 
river, about ten miles above the mouth, and 
six beyond the western boundary of Missouri. 
The sky cleared off at length, and we were 
enabled to determine our position, in longi- 
tude 94o25' 46", and latitude 39° 5' 67". 
The elevation above the sea is about 700 
feet. Our camp, in the meantime, presented 
an animated and bustling scene. All were 
busily occupied in completing the necessary 
arrangements for our campaign in the wil- 
derness, and profiting by this short delay on 
the verge of civilisation, to provide ourselves 
with all the little essentials to comfort in the 
nomadic life we were to lead for the ensuing 
Bummer months. Gradually, however, every- 
thing — the materiel of the camp, men, 
horses, and even mules — settled into its 
place, and by the 10th we were ready to de- 



part ; but, before we mount our horses, I will 
give a short description of the party with 
which I performed this service. 

I had collected in the neighborhood of St. 
Louis twenty-one men, principally Creole and 
Canadian voyageurs, who had become fami- 
liar with prairie life in the service of the fur 
companies in the Indian country. Mr. 
Charles Preuss, a native of Germany, was 
my assistant in the topographical part of the 
survey. L. Maxwell, of Kaskaskia, had 
been engaged as hunter, and Christopher 
Carson (more familiarly known, for liis ex- 
ploits in the mountains, as Kit Carson) was 
our guide. The persons engaged in St. 
Louis were : 

Clement Lambert, J. B. L'Esperance, J. 
B. Lefevre, Benjamin Potra, Louis Gouin, 
J. B. Dumes, Basil Lajeunesse, Francois 
Tessier, Benjamin Cadotte, Joseph Clement, 
Daniel Simonds, Leonard Benoit, Michel 
Morly, Baptiste Bernier, Honore Ayot, Fran- 
9ois Latulippe, Francois Badeau, Louis Me- 
nard, Joseph Ruelle, Moise Chardonnaia, 
Auguste Janisse, Raphael Proue. 

In addition to these, Henry Brant, son of 
Col. J. B. Brant, of St. Louis, a young man 
of nineteen years of age, and Randolph, a 
lively boy of twelve, son of the Hon. Thomas 
H. Benton, accompanied me, for the develop- 
ment of m.ind and body which such an expe- 
dition would give. We were all well armed 
and mounted, with the exception of eight 
men, who conducted as many carts, in which 
were packed our stores, with the baggage 
and instruments, and which were each drawn 
by two mules. A few loose horses, and four 
oxen, which had been added to our stock of 
provisions, completed the train. We set out 
on the morning of the 10th, which happened 
to be Friday — a circumstance which our men 
did not fail to remember and recall during 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1842. 



the hardships and vexations of the ensuing 
journey. Mr. Cyprian Chouteau, to whose 
kindness, during our stay at his house, we 
were much indebted, accompanied us several 
miles on our way, until we met an Indian, 
whom he had engaged to conduct us on the 
first thirty or forty miles, where he was to 
consign us to the ocean of prairie, which, we 
were told, stretched without interruption al- 
most to the hase of the Rocky mountains. 

From the belt of wood which borders the 
Kanfas, in which we had passed several 
good-looking Indian farms, we suddenly 
emerged on the prairies, which received us 
at the outset with some of their striking cha- 
racteristics ; for here and there rode an In- 
dian, and but a few miles distant heavy clouds 
of smoke were rolling before the fire. In 
about ten miles we reached the Santa Fe 
road, along which we continued for a short 
time, and encamped early on a small stream ; 
having travelled about eleven miles. Dur- 
ing our journey, it was the customary prac- 
tice to encamp an hour or two before sunset, 
■when the carts were disposed so as to form 
a sort of barricade around a circle some 
eighty yards in diameter. The tents were 
pitched, and the horses hobbled and turned 
loose to graze ; and but a few minute? 
elapsed before the cooks of the messes, of 
which there were four, were busily engaged 
in preparing the evening meal. At night- 
fall, the horses, mules, and oxen, were driven 
in and picketed — that is, secured by a halter, 
of which one end was tied to a small steel- 
shod picket, and driven into the ground ; tlie 
halter being twenty or thirty feet long, which 
enabled them to obtain a little food during 
the night. When we had reached a part of 
tlie country where such a precaution became 
necessary, the carts being regularly arranged 
for defending the camp, guard was mounted 
at eight o'clock, consisting of three men, 
who were relieved every two hours ; the 
morning watch being horse guard for the day. 
At davbreak, the camp was roused, the ani- 
mals turned loose to graze, and breakfast 
generally over between six and seven o'clock, 
when we resumed our march, making regu- 
larly a halt at noon for one or two hours. 
Such was usually the order of the day, ex- 
cept when accident of country forced a varia- 
tion ; which, however, happened but rarely. 
We travelled the next day along the Santa 
Fe road, which we left in the afternoon, and 
encamped late in the evening on a small 
creek, called by the Indians Mishmagwi. 
Just as we arrived at camp, one of the Jiorscs 
set oif at full speed on his return, and was 
followed by others. Several men wore sent 
in pursuit, and returned with the fugitives 
about midnight, with the exception of one 
man, who did not make his appearance until 
morning. He had lost his way in the dark- 



ness of the night, and slept on the prairie. 
Shortly after midnight it began to rain hea- 
vily, and, as our tents were of light and tliis 
cloth, they offered but little obstruction to 
rain ; we were all well soaked, and glad when 
morning came. We had a rainy march on 
the 12lh, but the weather grew fine as the 
day advanced. We encamped in a remarka- 
bly beautiful situation on the Kansas blufls, 
which commanded a fine view of the river 
valley, here from three to four miles wide. 
The central portion was occupied by a broad 
belt of heavy timber, and nearer the hills the 
prairies were of the richest verdure. One 
of the oxen w^as killed here for food. 

We reached the ford of the Kansas late 
in the afternoon of the 14th, where the river 
was two hundred and thirty yards wide, and 
commenced immediately preparations for 
crossing. I had expected to tind the river 
fordable . but it had been swollen by the late 
rains, and was sweeping by with an angry 
current, yellow and turbid as the Missouri. 
Up to this point, the road we had travelled 
was a remarkably fine one, well beaten, and 
level — the usual road of a prairie country. 
By our route, the ford was one hundred 
miles from the mouth of the Kansas river.. 
Several mounted men led the way into the 
stream, to swim across. The animals were 
driven in after them, and in a few minutes 
all had reached the opposite bank in safety, 
with the exception of the oxen, which swam 
some distance down the river, and, returning 
to the ri.oht bank, were not got over until 
the next" morning. In the meantime, the 
carts had been unloaded and dismantled, and 
an India-rubber boat, which I had brought 
with me for the survey of the Platte river» 
placed in the water. The boat was twenty 
feet long and five broad, and on it were 
placed the body and wheels of a cart, witli 
the load belonging to it, and three men witli 
paddles. 

The velocity of the current, and the incon- 
venient freight, rendering it difficult to be 
managed, Basil Lajeunesse, one of our beet 
swimmers, took in his teeth a line attached 
to the boat, and swam ahead in order to 
reach a footing as soon as possible, and as- 
sist in drawing her over. In this manner, 
six passages had been successfully made, 
and as many carts with their contents, and 
a greater portion of the party, deposited on 
the lelt bank ; but night was drawing near, 
and, in our anxiety to have all over before 
the darkness closed in, I put upon the boat 
the remaining two carts, with their accom- 
panying load. The man at the helm was 
timid on water, and, in his alarm, capsized 
the boat. Carts, barrels, boxes, and bales, 
were in a moment floating down the current; 
but all the men who were on the shore 
jumped into the water, without stopping to 



184a.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



think if they could swim, and almost evory- 
tiiing — even heavy articles, such as guns 
and lead — was recovered. 

Two of the men, who could not swim, 
came nigh being drowned, and all the sugar 
belonging to one of the messes wasted its 
sweets on tiie muddy waters ; but our hea- 
viest loss was a bag of coffee, which con- 
tained nearly all our provision. It was a 
loss v/hich none but a traveller in a strange 
and inhospitable country can appreciate ; and 
oflen afterward, when excessive toil and long 
marching had overcome us with fatigue and 
weariness, we remembered and mourned 
over our loss in the Kansas. Carson and 
Maxwell had been much in the water yes- 
terday, and both, in consequence, were taken 
ill. The former continuing so, I remained 
ia camp. A number of Kansas Indians 
visited us to-day. Going up to one of the 
gi-oups who were scattered among the trees, 
I found one sitting on the ground, among 
Bome of the men, gravely and fluently speak- 
ing French, with as much facility and as 
little embarrassment as any of my* own 
parly, who were nearly all ofFrench origin. 

On all sides was heard the strange lan- 
guage of his own people, wild, and harmon- 
izing well with their appearance. I listened 
to him for some time with feelings of strange 
curiosity and interest. He was now appa- 
tently thitty-five years of age ; and, on in- 
quiry, I learned that he had been at St. Louis 
wlien a boy, and there had learned the 
French language. From one of the Indian 
women I obtained a fine cow and calf in ex- 
change for a yoke of oxen. Several of them 
brought us vegetables, pumpkins, onions, 
beans, and lettuce. One of them brought 
butter, and from a half-breed near the river 
I had the good fortune to obtain some twenty 
or thirty pounds of coffee. The dense tim- 
ber in which we had encamped interfered 
with astronomical observations, and our wet 
and damaged stores required exposure to the 
sun. Accordingly, the tents were struck early 
the next morning, and, leaving camp at six 
o'clock, we moved about seven miles up the 
river, to a handsome, open prairie, some 
twenty feet above the water, where the fine 
grass afforded a luxurious repast to our 
horses. 

During the day we occupied ourselves in 
making astronomical observations, in order 
to lay down the country to this place ; it 
being our custom to keep up our map regu- 
larly in the field, which we found attended 
with many advantages. The men were 
kept busy in drying the provisions, painting 
tlie cart covers, and otherwise completing 
our equipage, until the afternoon, when pow- 
der Was distributed to them, and they spent 
some hours in firing at a mark. We were 
now fairly in the Indian conntry, and it be- 1 



gan to be time to prepare for the chances of 

the wilderness. 

Friday, June 17. — The weather yesterday 
had not permitted us to make the' observa- 
tions I was desirous to obtain here, and I 
therefore did not move to-day. The people 
continued their target firing. In the steep 
bank of the river here, v.-ere nests of innu- 
merable swallows, into one of which a large 
prairie snake had got about half his body, 
and was occupied in eating the young birds. 
The old ones were flying about in great dis- 
tress, darting at him, and vainly endeavoring 
to drive him off. A shot wounded him, and, 
being killed, he was cut open, and eighteen 
young swallows were found in his body. A 
sudden storm, that burst upon us in the af- 
ternoon, cleared away in a brilliant sunset, 
followed by a clear night, which enabled us 
to determine our position in longitude 95S 
38' 05", and in latitude 39° 06' 40" 

A party of emigrants to the Columbia 
river, under the charge of Dr. Wliite, an 
agent of the Government in Oregon Terri- 
tory, were about three weeks in advance of 
U6. They consisted of men, women, and 
children. There were sixty-four men, and 
sixteen or seventeen families. They had a 
considerable number of cattle, and were 
transporting their household furniture in 
laro-e heavy wagons. I understood that there 
had been much sickness among them, and 
that they had lost several children. One of 
the party who had lost his child, and whose 
wife was very ill, had left them about one 
hundred miles hence on the prairies ; and as 
a hunter, who had accompanied them, visited 
our camp this evening, we availed ourselves 
of his return to the States to write to our 
friends. 

The morning of the 18th was very unplea- 
sant. A fine rain was falling, with cold 
wind from the north, and mists made the 
river hills look dark and gloomy. We left 
our camp at seven, journeying along the foot 
of the hills which border the Kansas valley, 
generally about three miles wide, and ex- 
tremely rich. We halted for dinner, alter a 
march of about thirteen miles, on the banks 
of one of the many little tributaries to the 
Kansas, which look like trenches in the 
prairie, and are usually well timbered. Af- 
ter crossing this stream, I rode off some 
miles to the left, attracted by the appearance 
of a cluster of huts near the mouth of the 
Vermillion. It was a large but deserted Kan- 
sas village, scattered in an open v.ood, along 
the margin of the stream, on a spot chosen 
with the customary Indian fondness for beauty 
of scenery. The Pawnees had attacked it 
in the early spring. Some of the houses 
were burnt, and others blackened with 
smoke, and weeds were already getting pos- 
session of the cleared places. Riding up 



8 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843, 



the Vermillion river, I reached the ford in 
time to meet the carts, and, crossing, en- 
camped on its western side. The weather 
continued cool, the thermometer being this 
evening as low as 49" ; but the night was 
Bufliciently clear for astronomical obsen'a- 
tions, whicli placed us in longitude 90" 04' 
07', and latitude 39° 15' 19". At sunset, 
the barometer was at 28.845, thermometer 
64". 

We breakfasted the next morning at half 
past five, and left onr encampment early. 
The' morning was cool, the thermometer 
being at 45". Quitting the river bottom, 
the road ran along the uplands, over a roll- 
ing country, generally in view of the Kan- 
sas from eight to twelve miles distant. 
Many large boulders, of a very compact 
sandstone, of various shades of red, some of 
them four or five tons in weight, were scat- 
tered along the hills ; and many beautiful 
plants in flower, among which the amorpha 
cancscens was a characteristic, enlivened the 
green of the prairie. At the heads of the 
ravines I remarked, occasionally, thickets 
of salix longifolia, the most common willow 
of the country. We travelled nineteen 
miles, and pitched our tents at evening on 
the head waters of a small creek, now nearly 
dry, but having in its bed several fine springs. 
The barometer indicated a considerable rise 
in tlie country — here about fourteen hundred 
feet above tiie sea — and the increased eleva- 
tion app/eared already to have some slight 
influence upon the vegetation. The night 
was cold, with a heavy dew ; the thermome- 
ter at 10 p. m. standing at 46°, barometer 
28.483. Our position was in longitude 96° 
14' 49", and latitude 39° 30' 40', 

The morning of the 20th was fine, with a 
southerly breeze and a bright sky ; and at 
Bcven o'clock v/e were on the march. The 
country to-day was rather more broken, ris- 
ing still, and covered everywhere with frag- 
ments of siliceous limestone, particularly on 
the summits, where they were small, and 
thickly strewed as pebbles on the shore of 
the sea. In these exposed situations grew 
but few plants ; though, whenever the soil 
was good and protected from the winds, in 
the creek bottoms and ravines, and on the 
slopes, they flourished abundantly ; among 
them the amorpha, still retaining its charac- 
teristic place. We crossed at 10 a. m., the 
Big Vermillion, which has a rich bottom of 
about one mile in breadth, one-third of which 
is occupied by timber. Making our usual 
halt at noon, after a day's march of twenty- 
four miles, we reached the Big Blue, and 
encamped on the uplands of the western 
side, near a small creek, where was a fine 
large spring of very cold water. This is a 
clear and handsome stream, about one hun- 
dred and twenty feet wide, running, with a 



rapid current, through a well-timbered val- 
ley. To-day antelope were seen running 
over the hills, and at evening Carson brought 
us a fine deer Longitude of the camp 96' 
32- 35", latitude 39° 46' 08." Thermome- 
ter at sunset 75". A pleasant eoutheriy 
breeze and fine morning had given place to 
a gale, with indications of bad weather; 
when, after a march of ten milee, we halted 
to noon on a small creek, where the water 
stood in deep pools. In the bank of the 
creek limestone made its appearance in a 
stratum about one foot thick. In the after- 
noon, the people seemed to suffer for want 
of water. The road led along a high dry 
ridge ; dark lines of timber indicated the 
heads of streams in the plains below ; but 
there was no water near, and the day was 
very oppressive, with a hot wind, and the 
thermometer at 90°. Along our route the 
amnrpha has been in very abundant but vo/- 
riable bloom — in some places bending be- 
neath the weight of purple clusters ; in oth- 
ers without a flower. It seems to love best 
the sunny slopes, with a dark .soil and south- 
ern exposure. Everywhere the rose i.s met 
with, and reminds us of cultivated gardens 
and civilisation. It is scattered over the 
prairies in small bouquets, and, when glitter- 
ing in the dews and waving in the pleasant 
breeze of the early morning, is the most 
beautiful of the prairie flowers. The arte- 
misia, absinthe, or prairie sage, as it is va- 
riously Ciilled, is increasing in size, and glit- 
ters like silver, as the southern breeze turns 
up its leaves to the sun. All these planta 
have their insect inhabitants, variously color- 
ed ; taking generally the hue of the flower 
on which they live. The artemisia has its 
small fly accompanying it through every 
change of elevation and latitude ; and wher- 
ever I have seen the asclepias luberosa, t 
have always remarked, too, on the flower a 
large butterfly, so nearly resembling it ia 
color as to be distinguishable at a little dis- 
tance only by the motion of its wings. Tra- 
velling on, the fresh traces of the Oregon 
emigrants relieve a little the loneliness of 
the road ; and to-night, after a march of 
twenty-two miles, we halted en a small 
creek, v/hich had been one of their encamp- 
ments. As we advance westward, the soil 
appears to be getting more sandy, and the 
surface rock, an erratic deposite of sand and 
gravel, rests here on a bed of coarse yellow 
and grey and very friable sandstone. Even- 
ing closed over with rain and its usual at- 
tendant hordes of musquitoes, with which 
we were annoyed for the first time. 

June 22. — We enjoyed at breakfast this 
morning a luxury, very unusual in this 
country, in a cup of excellent coffee, with 
cream from our cow. Being milked at 
night, cream was thus had in the morning. 



. 1842.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



Our mid-day halt was at Wyeth's creek, in 
the bed of whicli were numerous boulders 
of dark ferruginous sandstone, mingled with 
others of the red sandstone already men- 
tioned. Here a pack of cardj, lyin^r loose 
on the grass, marked an encampment of our 
Oregon emigrants ; and it was at the close 
of the day when we made our bivouac in the 
midst of some well-timbered ravines near the 
Little Blue, tvvenly-four miles from our 
camp of the preceding night. Crossing the 
next morning a number of handsome creeks, 
with clear water and sandy beds, we reached, 
at 10 a. m., a very beautiful wooded stream, 
about thirty-tive feet wide, called Sandy 
creek, and sometimes, as the Ottoes fre- 
quently winter there, the Otto fork. The 
country has become very sandy, and the 
plants less varied and abundant, with the 
exception of the amorpha, which rivals the 
grass in quantity, though not so forward as 
It has been found to the eastward. 

At the Big Trees, where we had intended 
to noon, no water was to be found. The bed 
of the little creek was perfectly dry, and, on 
the ad_,acent sandy bottom, cacLi, for the tirst 
time, made their appearance. We made 
here a short delay in search of water ; and, 
alter a liard day's march of twenty-eight 
tniles, encamped, at 5 o'clock, on the Little 
Blue, where our arrival made a scene of the 
Arabian desert. As fast as they arrived, men 
and horses rushed into the stream, where 
they bathed and drank together in commfin 
eujoyment. We were now in the range of 
the Fawnees, who were accustomed to infest 
this part of the country, stealing horses from 
companies on their way to the mounUiins, 
and, when in autlicient force, openly attack- 
ing and plundering them, and subjecting 
tiiem to various kinds ot insult. For the 
first tiini\ therefore, guard was mounted to- 
night. Oar route the ne.xt morning lay up 
the valley, which, bordered by hills with 
graceful slopes, looked uncommonly green 
and beauli.ul. The stream was about fifty 
feet widi', and three or four deep, fringed by 
col ton wood and willow, with frequent groves 
of o:ik tenanted by flocks of turkeys. Game 
her-, too, made its appearance in greater 
jpleuty. Elk were frequently seen on the 
LiiU, and now and then an antelope bounded 
■a TOSS oar path, or a desr broke from the 
provos. T:it* roid in t'le afternoon was over 
tiiC Ujiper priires, several miles from the 
•river, and we enoamped at sunset on one of 
its '.nil frii)uiaries, where an abundance of 
,|)e e (^ri'dsi'u/n) aftbrded fine foragi^ to our 
tireJ a.juuals. We had travelled thirty-one 
In 1'^^. A heavy bmk of black clouds in the 
Wi'Stcima on u-i in a storm bet:\veen nine 
tinJ ten, j)receleJ by a violent wind. The 
rain fe I m such torrents that it wa-; difficult 
*o brc-atue facing the wind, the thunder rolled 



incessantly, and the whole sky was tremu- 
lous with lightning ; now and then illumin- 
ated by a blinding flash, succeeded by pitchy 
darkness. Carson had the watch from ten 
to midnight, and to him had been assigned 
our young compagnons de voyage, Messrs. 
Brant and R. Benton. This was tlieir first 
night on guard, and such an introduction did 
not augur very auspiciously of the pleasures 
of the e.xpedition. Many things conspired to 
render their situation uncomfortable ; stories 
of desperate and bloody Indian fights were 
rife in the camp; our position was badly 
chosen, surrounded on all sides by timbered 
hollows, and occupying an area of several 
hundred feet, so that necessarily the guards 
were far apart ; and now and then I could 
hear Randolph, as if relieved by the sound 
of a voice in the darkness, calling out to the 
sergeant of the guard, to direct his attention 
to some imaginary alarm ; but tley stood it 
out, and took their turn regularly after- 
ward. 

The next morning we had a specimen of 
the false alarms to which all parties in these 
wild regions are subject. Proceeding up 
the valley, objects were seen on the oppo- 
site hills, which disappeared before a glass 
could be brought to bear upon them. A 
man, who was a short distance in tlie rear, 
came spurring up in great haste, shouting 
Indians ! Indians ! He had been near 
enough to see and count them, according to 
his report, and had made out twenty-seven. 
I immediately halted ; arms were examined 
and put in order ; the usual preparations 
made ; and Kit Carson, springing upon one 
of the hunting horses, crossed the river, and 
galloped off into the opposite prairies, to ob- 
tain some certain intelligence of their move- 
ments. ^^ 

Mounted on a fine horse, without a Sradle, 
and scouring bareheaded over the prairies, 
Kit was one of the finest pictures of a horse- 
man I have ever seen. A short time ena- 
bled him to discover that the Indian war 
party of twenty-seven, consisted of six elk, 
who had been gazing curiously at our cara- 
van as it passed by, and were now scamper- 
ing off at full speed. This was our first 
alarm, and its excitement broke agreeably 
on the monotony of the day. At our noon 
halt, the men were exercised at a target ; 
and in the evening we pitched our tents at a 
Pawnee encampment of last July. They 
had apparently killed buffalo here, as many 
bones were lying about, and the frame.^ 
where the hides had been stretched were yet 
standing. The road of the da^ had kept 
the valley, which is sometimes rich and well 
timbered, though the country is generally 
sandy. Mingled with the usual plants, a 
thistle (carduiLS leucop-aphus) had for the 
last day or two made its appearance ; and 



10 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1&42, 



along the river bottom, iradescanlia (virgini- 
ca) and milk plant (asclepias syriaca*) in 
considerable quantities. 

Our march tc-<lay had been twenty-one 
miles, and the astronomical observations 
gave us a chronometric lonpitude of 98° 22' 
12", and latitude 40° 26' 50". We were 
moving forward at seven in the morning, and 
in about five miles reached a fork of the 
Bine, where the road leaves that river, and 
crosses over to the Platte. No water was to 
be found on the dividing riJge, and the casks 
were filled, and the animals here allowed a 
short repose. Tlie road led across a high 
and level prairie ridge, where were but few 
plants, and those principally thistle (carduus 
leucdgraphiis), and a kind of dwarf artemi- 
sia. Antelope were seen frequently during 
the morning, which was very stormy. 
Squalls of rain, with thunder and lightning, 
were around us in every direction ; and 
■while we were enveloped iil one of them, a 
flash, which seemed to scorch our eyes as it 
passed, struck in the prairie within a few 
hundred feet, sending up a column of dust. 

Crossing on the way several Pawnee 
roads to the Arkansas, we reached, in about 
twenty-one miles from our halt on the Blue, 
what is called the coast of the Nebraska, or 
Platte river. This had seemed in the dis- 
tance a range of high and broken hills ; but 
on a nearer approach were found to be ele- 
vations of forty to sixty feet, into which the 
wind had worked tlie sand. They were co- 
vered with the usual fine grasses of the 
country, and bordered the eastern side of 
the ridge on a breadth of about two miles. 
Change of soil and country appeared here 
to have produced some change in the vege- 
tation. Cacti were numerous, and all the 
plants|^f the region appeared to flourish 
among the warm hills. Among them the 
amorpha, in full bloom, was remarkable for 
its large and luxuriant purple clusters. 
From the foot of the coast, a distance of two 
miles across the level bottom brought us to 
our encampment on the shore of the river, 
about twenty miles below the head of Grand 
Island, which lay extended before us, cover- 
ed with dense and heavy woods. From the 
mouth of the Kansas, according to our reck- 
oning, we had travelled three hundred and 
twenty-eight miles ; and the geological form- 
ation of the country we had passed over 



* "This plant is very odoriferous, nnd in Canada 
charms the Iravfllcr. eepccially vvhtn pnstiiiig lliroui;h 
woods in llic (.Vfiiing. The French there eat (he tender 
ehoota in the spring, as we do asparnu'n;^. The natives 
make a sugar of ihc flowers. EalherinK them in llie 
marn'wg when they are covered with dew, and collect 
the cotton from their pixis to fill their beds. On account 
of the eilJtineFS of this cotion, Parkinson calls the plant 
Virginian Kilk." — Loudon's Encyclopedia of Plants. 

The Sioux Indians of the Upper Platte eat the ymirg 
pods of this plant, boiling thetn with the meat of ibe 
buffalo. 



consisted of lime and sandstone, covered by 
the same erratic deposite of sand and gravel 
which forms the surface rock of the prairies 
between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. 
Except in some occasional limestone bould- 
ers, I had met with no fossils. The eleva- 
tion of the Platte valley above the sea is 
here about two thousand feet. The astro- 
nomical observations of the nighi placed ue 
in longitude 98° 46' 49", latitude 4Co 41' 
OG". 

June 27. — The animals were eomewhat 
fatigued by their march of yesterday, and, 
after a short journey of eighteen miles along 
the river bottom, I encamped near the hea3 
of Grand Island, in longitude, by observa- 
tion, 99° 05' 24", latitude 40" 39" 32". 
The soil here was light but rich, though in 
some places rather sandy ; and, with the ex- 
ception of a scattered fringe along the bank, 
the timber, consisting principally of poplar 
(popnlus monilijera), elm, and hackberry 
(celiis crassifoUa), is confined almost entirely 
to the islands. 

June 28. — We halted to noon at an open 
reach of the river, which occupies rather 
more than a fourth of the valley, here only 
about four miles broad. The camp had been 
disposed with the usual precaution, the 
horses grazing at a little distance, attended 
by the guard, and we were all sitting quietly 
at our dinner on the grass, when suddenly 
we heard the startling cry " du monde .'" la 
an instant, every man'« weapon was in his 
hand, the horses were driven in, hobbled and 
picketed, and horsemen were galloping at 
full speed in the direction of the new comers, 
screaming and yelling with the wildest ex- 
citement. " Get ready, my lads ! " said the 
leader of the approaching party to his men, 
when our wild-looking horsemen were dis- 
covered bearing down upon them ; " nous 
alloiis attraper des coups de baguelle." They 
proved to be a small party of fourteen, under 
the charge of a man named John Lee, and, 
with their baggage and provisions strapped 
to their backs, were making their way on 
foot to the frontier. A brief account of their 
fortunes will give some idea of navigation in 
the Nebraska. Sixty days since, they had 
left the mouth of I^aramie's fork, some three 
hundred miles above, in barges laden with 
the furs of the American Fur Company. 
They started with the annual flood, and, 
drawing but nine inches water, hoped to 
make a speedy and prosperous voyage to St. 
Louis ; but, after a lapse of forty clays, found 
themselves only one hundred and thirty 
miles from their point of departure. They 
came down rapidly as far as Scott's bluflfe, 
where their difficulties began. Sometime* 
they came upon places where the water waa 
spread over a great extent, and here thsy 
toiled from moruing until night, endeavoring 



1842.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



H 



•to drag their boat through the sands, making 
only two or three miles in as many days. 
Sometimes they would enter an arm of the 
river, where there appeared a fine channel, 
and, after descending prosperously for eight 
or ten miles, would come suddenly upon dry 
Band-;, and be compelled to return, dragging 
their boat for days against the rapid current ; 
and at others, , they came upon places where 
■tlie water lay'in holes, and, getting out to 
-float off their boat, would fall into water up 
to their necks, and the next moment tumble 
over against a sandbar. Discouraged, at 
length, and finding the Platte growing every 
"day more shallow, they discharged the prin- 
cipal part of their cargoes one hundred and 
thirty miles below Fort Laramie, which they 
secured as well as possible, and, leaving a 
few men to guard them, attempted to con- 
tinue their voyage, laden with some light 
furs and their personal baggage. After fif- 
teen or twenty days more struggling in the 
eands, during which they made but one hun- 
dred and lorty miles, they sunk their barges, 
made a cache of their remaining furs and 
property, in trees on the bank, and, packing 
on his back what each man could carry, had 
commenced, the day before we encountered 
tliem, their journey on foot to St. Louis. 

We laughed then at their forlorn and vag- 
abond a[)pearance, and, in our turn, a month 
iOr two afterwards, furnished the same occa- 
.eion for merriment to others. Even their 
..stock of tobacco, that sine qvd non of a votj- 
. ageuy, without which the night fire is gloomy, 
was .entirely exhausted. However, we 
shortened their homeward journey by a small 
supply jfom our own provision. Tliey gave 
us the vveicome intelligence that the butialo 
were abundant some two days' march in ad- 
vance, and made us a present of some choice 
pieces, which were a very acceptable change 
tvom our salt pork. In the interchange of 
nevvs, and the renewal of old acquaintance- 
Bhips, we found wherewithiil to fill a busy 
hour; tlum we mounted our horses, and 
they shouldered their packs, and we shook 
hands and parted. Among them, I had 
-found an old companion on the northern 
j)rairie, a hardened and hardly served veteran 
o\ tiie mountains, who had been as much 
hacked and scarred as an old mouslache of 
Napoleon's "old guard." He flourished in 
the sobriquet of La Tulipe, and his real 
name I never knew. Finding that he was 
goiui^ to the States only because his compa- 
ny was bound in that direction, and that he 
wa.s niliier more willing to return with me, 
I took him again into my service. We 
travelled this day but seveutren miles. 

At our evening camp, about sun-et, three 

figures were di.^covered approaching, which 

our glasses made out to be Indians. They 

^ proved to be Cheyennes — two men, and a 



boy of thirteen. About a month since, they 
had left their people on the south fork of the 
river, some three hundred miles to the west- 
ward, and a party of only four in number 
had been to the Pawnee villages on a horse- 
stealing excursion, from which they were 
returning unsuccessful. They were miser- 
ably mounted on wild horses from the Ark- 
ansas plains, and had no other weapons than 
bov/s and long spears ; and had they been 
discovered by the Pawnees, could not, by 
any possibility, have escaped. They were 
mortified by their ill success, and said the 
Pawnees were cowards, who shut up their 
horses in their lodges at night. I invited 
them to supper with me, and Randolph and 
the young Cheyenne, who had been eyeing 
each other suspiciously and curiously, soon 
became intimate friends. After supper, we 
sat down on the grass, and I placed a sheet 
of paper between us, on which they traced 
rudely, but with a certain degree of relative 
U-uth, the watercourses of the country which 
lay between us and their villages, and of 
which I desired to have some information. 
Their companions, they told us, \\: taken a 
nearer route over the hills; but t.iey had 
mounted one of the summits to spy out the 
country, whence they had caught a glimpse 
of our party, and, confident of good treat- 
ment at tlie hands of the whites, hastened to 
join company. Latitude of the camp 40* 
39' 51". 

We made the next morning sixteen milea. 
I remarked that the ground was covered in 
many places with an efflorescence of salt, 
and the plants were not numerous. In the 
bottoms were frequently seen Iradescanlia, 
and on the dry lenches were rarduus, cacJus, 
and amarpha. A high wind during the 
morning had increased lo a violent gale from 
the northwest, which made our ai'ternooo 
ride cold and unpleasant. We had the wel- 
come sight of two buffiiloes on one of the 
large islands, and encamped at a clump of 
timber about seven miles from our noon halt, 
after a day's march of twenty-two miles. 

The air was keen the next morning at 
sunrise, the thermometer standing at 44o, 
and it was sufficiently cold to make over- 
coats very comfortable. A few milea brought 
us into the midst of the buffalo, swarming 
in immense numbers over the plains, where 
they had left scarcely a blade of grass stand- 
ing. Mr. Preuss, who was sketching at a 
little distance in the rear, had at first noted 
them as large groves of timber. In the 
.sight of such a mass of life, the traveller 
feels a strange emotion of grandeur. We 
had heard from a distance a dull and con- 
fused murmuring, and, when we came in 
view of their dark masses, there was not one 
among us who did not leel his heart beat 
' quicker. It was the early part of the day, 



13 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1849, 



when the herda are feeding ; and every- 
where they were in motion. Here and there 
a huge old hull was rolling in the grass, and 
clouds of dust rose in the air from various 
parts of the bands, each the scene of some 
obstinate tight. Indians and buffalo make 
the poetry and life of the prairie, and our 
camp was full of their exhilaration. In place 
of the quiet monotony of the march, relieved 
only by the cracking of the whip, and an 
" amnce done ! enfant dc garce .' " shouts 
and songs resounded from every part of the 
line, and our evening camp was always the 
commencement of a fcasf, which terminated 
only with our departure on the following 
morning. At any time of the night might 
be seen pieces of the most delicate and 
choicest meat, roasting en appolas, on sticks 
around the fire, and the guard were never 
without company. With pleasant weather 
and no enemy to fear, an abundance of the 
most e.xcellent meat, and no scarcity of 
bread or tobacco, they were enjoying the 
oasis of a voyagenr's life. Three cows were 
killed to-day. Kit Carson had shot one, and 
was continuing tiie chase in the midst of 
another herd, when his horse fell headlong, 
but sprang up and joined the flying band. 
Though considerably hurt, he had the good 
fortune to break no bones ; and Ma.xwell, 
who was mounted on a fleet hunter, cap- 
lured tlie runaway after a hard chase. He 
was on the point of shooting him, to avoid 
the loss of his bridle, (a handsomely mount- 
ed Spanish one), when he found that his 
horse was able to come up with him. Ani- 
mals are frequently lost in this way ; and it 
is necessary to keep close watch over them, 
in the vicinity of the buffalo, in the midst of 
which they scour off to the plains, and arc 
rarely retaken. One of our mules took a 
sudden freak into his head, and joined a 
neighboring band to-day. As we were not 
in a condition to lose horses, I sent several 
men in pursuit, and remained in camp, in 
the hope of recovering him ; but lost the 
afternoon to no purpose, as we did not see 
him again. Astronomical observations 
placed uf5 in longitude lOOo 05' 47", latitude 
40o 49' 55". 

July 1 . — Along our road to-day the prairie 
bottom was more elevated and dry, and the 
hills which border the right side of the river 
higher, and more broken and picturesque in 
the outline. The country, too, was better 
timbered. As we were riding quietly along 
the bank, a grand herd of buffalo, some seven 
or eight hundred in number, came crowding 
up from the river, where they had been to 
drink, and commenced crossing the plain 
slowly, eating as they went. The wind was 
favorable; the coolness of the morning in- 
vited to exercise ; the ground was apparently 
good, and the distance across the prairie (two 



or three miles) gave us a fine opportunity to 
charjre them before they could get among the 
river hills. It was too fine a prospect for a 
chase to be lost ; and, halting for a few mo- 
ments, the hunters were brought up and sad- 
dled, and Kit Carson, Ma.xwell,and I, started 
together. They were now somewhat less 
than half a mile distant, and we rode easily 
along until within about three hundred yards, 
when a sudden agitation, a wavering in the 
band, and a galloping to and fro of some 
which were scattered along the skirts, gave 
us the intimation that we were discovered. 
We started together at a hand gallop, rWing 
steadily abreast of each other, and here the 
interest of the chase became so engrossiugly 
intense, that we were sensible to nothing else. 
We were now closing upon them rapidly, and 
the front of the mass was already in rapid 
motion for the hills, and in a few seconds the 
movement had communicated itself to tlie 
whole herd. 

A crowd of bulls, as usual, brought up the 
rear, and every now and then some of them 
faced about, and then dashed on after the 
band a short distance, and turned and looked 
again, as if more than half inclined to stand 
and fight. In a few moments, however, du- 
ring which we had been quickening our pace, 
the rout was universal, and we were going 
over the ground like a hurricane. When at 
about thirty yards, we gave the usual shout 
(the hunter's pas de charge), and broke into 
the herd. We entered on the side, the mass 
giving way in every direction in their heed- 
less course. Many of the bulls, lees active 
and less fleet than the cows, paying no at- 
tention to the ground, and occupied solely 
with the hunter, were precipitated to the earth 
with great force, rolling over and over with 
the violence of the shock, and hardly dis- 
tinguishable in the dust. We separated on 
entering, each singling out his game. 

My horse was a trained hunter, famous ia 
the west under the name of Proveau, and, 
with Jiis eyes flashing, and the foam flying 
from his mouth, sprang on after the cow like 
a tiger. In a few moments he brought mo 
alongside of her, and rising in the stirrups, I 
fired at the distance of a yard, the ball enter- 
ing at the termination of the long hair, and 
passing near the heart. She fell headlong 
at the report of the gun, and, checking my 
horse, I looked around for my companions. 
At a little distance. Kit was on the ground, 
engaged in tying his horse to the horns of 
a cow which he was preparing to cut up. 
Among the scattered bands, at some distance 
below, I caught a glimpse of Maxwell ; and 
while I was looking, a light wreath of while 
smoke curled away from his gun, from which 
1 was too far to hear the report. Nearer, 
and between me and the hills, towards which 
they were diroctiug their course, was the 



I 



1842.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



13 



body of the herd, and, giving my horse the 
rein, we dashed after them. A thick cloud 
of dust hung upon their rear, which filled 
my mouth and eyes, and nearly smothered 
me. In the midst of this I could see nothing, 
and the bufTalo were not distinguishable until 
within thirty feet. They crowded together 
more densely still as I came upon them, nnd 
rushed along in such a compact body, that I 
could not obtain an entrance — the horse al- 
most leaping upon them. In a few moments 
the mass divided to the right and left, the 
horns clattering with a noise heard above 
everything else, and my horse darted into 
the opening. Five or six bulls charged on 
us as we dashed along the line, but were left 
far behind ; and, singling out a cow, I gave 
her my fire, but struck too high. She gave 
a tremendous leap, and scoured on swifter 
than before. I reined up my horse, and the 
band swept on like a torrent, and left the 
place quiet and clear. Our chase had led us 
mto dangerous ground. A prairie dog-vil- 
.age, so thickly settled that there were three 
or four holes in every twenty yards square, 
occupied the whole bottom for nearly two 
miles in length. Looking around, I saw only 
one of the hunters, nearly out of sight, and 
the long dark line of our caravan crawling 
along, three or four miles distant. After a 
march of twenty-four miles, we encamped at 
nightfall, one mile and a half above the lower 
end of Brady's Island. The breadth of this 
arm of the river was eight hundred and 
eighty yards, and the water nowhere two 
feet in depth. The island bears the name of 
a man killed on this spot some years ago. 
His party had encamped here, three in com- 
pany, and one of the number went off to hunt, 
leaving Brady and his companion together. 
These two had frequently quarrelled, and on 
the hunter's return he found Brady dead, and 
was told that he had shot himself accident- 
ally. He was buried here on the bank ; but, 
as usual, the wolves had torn him out, and 
some human bones that were lying on the 
ground we supposed were his. Troops of 
wolves, that were hanging on the skirts of 
the buffalo, kept up an uninterrupted howling 
during the night, venturing almost into camp. 
In the morning, they were sitting at a short 
distance, barking, and impatiently waiting 
our departure, to fall upon the bones. 

July 3. — The morning was cool and smoky. 
Our road led closer to the hills, which here 
increased in elevation, presenting an outline 
of conical peaks three hundred to five hun- 
dred feet high. Some timber, apparently 
pine, grows in the ravines, and streaks 
of clay or sand whiten their slopes. We 
crossed during the morning a number of hol- 
lows, timbered principally with box elder 
(acer negundo), poplar and elm. Brady's 
island is well wooded, and all the river aiong 



which our road led to-day may, in general, 
be called tolerably well timbered. We pass- 
ed near an encampment of the Oregon emi- 
grants, where they appeared to have reposed 
several days. A variety of household arti- 
cles were scattered about, and they had pro- 
bably disburdened themselves here of many 
things not absolutely necessary. I had left 
the usual road before the mid-day halt, and 
in the afternoon, having sent .several men in 
advance to reconnoitre, marched directly for 
the mouth of the South fork. On our arri- 
val, the horsemen were sent in and scattered 
about the river to search the best fording 
places, and the carts followed immediately. 
The stream is here divided by an ishwid into 
two channels. The southern is four hundred 
and fifty feet wide, having eighteen or twenty 
inches water in the deepest places. With 
the exception of a few dry bars, the bed of 
the river is generally quicksands, in which 
the carts began to sink rapidly so soon as 
the mules halted, so that it was necessary to 
keep them constantly in motion. 

The northern channel, two thousand two 
hundred and fifty feet wide, was somewhat 
deeper, having frequently three feet water in 
the numerous small channels, with a bed of 
coarse gravel. The whole breadth of the 
Nebraska, immediately below the junction, is 
five thousand three hundred and fifty feet. 
All our equipage had reached the left, bank 
safely at G o'clock, having to-day made twenty 
miles. We encamped at the point of land 
immediately at the junction of the N3rth and 
South forks. Between the streams is a low 
rich prairie, extending from their confluence 
eighteen miles westwardly to the bordering- 
hills, where it is five and a half miles wide. 
It is covered with a luxuriant growth of grass, 
and along the banks is a slight and scattered 
fringe of cottonwood and vvillow. In the 
buftklo trails and wallows, I remarked saline 
efflorescences, to which a rapid evaporation 
in the great heat of the sun probably contri- 
butes, as the soil is entirely unprotected by 
timber. In the vicinity of these places there 
was a bluish grass, which the cattle refuse 
to eat, called by the voyageurs" hsrbe salee'* 
(salt grass). The latitude of the junction is 
41° 04" 47", and longitude, by chronometer 
and lunar distances, 100° 49' 43". The ele- 
vation above the sea is about two tliousand 
seven hundred feet. The hunters came in 
with a fat cow ; and, as we had labored hard, 
we enjoyed well a supper of roasted ribs and 
houdins, the chef-dfcRuvre of a prairie cook. 
Mosquitoes thronged about us this evening; 
but, by 10 o'clock, when the thermometer had 
fallen to 47°, they had all disappeared. 

July 3. — As this was to be a point in our 
homeward journey, I made a cache (a term 
used in all this country for what is hidden in 
the groaod) of a barrel of pork. It was Im- 



14 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1842. 



possible to conceal such a proceeding from 
the sharp eyes of our Cheyenne companions, 
and I therefore told them to go and see what 
it was they were burying. They would oth- 
erwise have not failed to return and destroy 
our cache in expectation of some rich booty ; 
but pork they dislike, and never eat. We 
left our camp at 9, continuing up the South 
fork, the prairie bottom affording us a fair 
road ; but in the long grass we roused myri- 
•ads of mosquitoes and flies, from which our 
horses suffered severely. The day was 
smoky, with a pleasant breeze from tiie south, 
s.nd the plains on the opposite side were co- 
vered with buftUlo. Having travelled twenty- 
five miles, we encamped at 6 in the evening; 
and the men were sent across the river for 
wood, as there is none here on the left bank. 
Our tires were partially made of the bois de 
vache, the dry excrement of the buffalo, 
which, like that of the camel in the Arabian 
deserts, furnishes to the traveller a very good 
substitute for wood, burning like turf. 
Wolves in great numbers surrounded us 
during the night, crossing and recrossing 
from the opposite herds to our camp, and 
howling and trotting about in tlie river until 
morning. 

July 4. — The morning was verj- smoky, 
the sun shining dimly and red, as in a thick 
fog. The camp was roused with a salute at 
daybreak, and from our scanty store a portion 
of what our Indian friends called the " red 
fire water" served out to the men. While 
we were at breakfast, a buffiilo calf broke 
through the camp, followed by a couple of 
wolves. In its fright, it had probably mis- 
taken us for a bana of buffalo. The wolves 
were obliged to make a circuit around the 
camp, so that the calf got a little the start, 
and strainetl every nerve to reach a large 
herd at the foot of the hilLs, about two miles 
distant ; but first one, and then another, and 
another wolf joined in the chase, until his 
pursuers amounted to twenty or thirty, and 
they ran him down before he could reach his 
friends. There were a few bulls near the 
place, and one of them attacked the wolves, 
and tried to rescue him ; but was driven off 
immediately, and the little animal fell an 
easy prey, half devoured before he was dead. 
We watched the chase with the interest al- 
ways felt for the weak ; and had there been 
a saddled hor.«e at hand, he would have fared 
better. Leaving camp, our road soon ap- 
proached the hills, in which strata of a marl 
like that of the Chimney rock, hereafter de- 
Bcribod, make their appearance. It is proba- 
bly of this rock that the hills on the right 
bank of Uie Platte, a little below the junction, 
are composed, and which are worked by the 
winds and rains into sharp peaks and cones, 
giving them, in contrast to tiie surrounding 
level region, something of a picturesque ap- 



pearance. We crossed (his morning nume- 
rous beds of the small creeks which, in the 
time of rains and nielting snow, pour down 
from the ridge, bringing clown witli them al- 
ways great quantities of sand and gravel, 
which have gradually raised their beds four 
to ten feet above the level of the prairie, 
which they cross, making each one of them 
a miniature Po. Rjiiscd in this way above 
the surrounding prairie, without any bank, 
the long yellow and winding line of their 
beds resembles a causeway from the hills to 
the river. Many spots on the prairie aro 
yellow with sunflower (heliantkus). 

As we were riding slowly along this after- 
noon, clouds of dust in the ravines, among 
the hills to the right, suddenly attracted our 
attention, and in a few minutes column after 
column of buffalo came galloping down, 
making directly to the river. By the time 
the leading here's had reached the water, the 
prairie was darkened with the dense masses. 
Immediately before us, when the bands first 
came dowry into the valley, stretched an un- 
broken line, the head of which was lost 
among the river hills on the opposite side ; 
and still they poured down from the ridge on 
our right. From hill to hill, the prairie bot- 
tom was certainly not lees than two miles 
wide; and, allowing the animals to be ten 
feet apart, and only ten in a line, there were 
already eleven thousand in view. Some 
idea may thus be formed of their number 
when they had occupied the whole pJain. 
In a short time they surrounded us on every 
side; extending for several miles in the rear, 
and forward as far as the eye could reach ; 
leaving around us, as we advanced, an open 
space of only two or three hundred yards. 
This movement of the buffalo indicated to 
us the presence of Indians on the north 
fork. 

I halted earlier than usual, about forty 
miles from the junction, and all hands were 
soon busily engaged in preparing a feast to 
celebrate the day. The kindness of our 
friends at St. Louis had provided us with a 
large supply of excellent preserves and rich 
fruit cake ; and when these were added to a 
maccaroni soup, and variously prepared dish- 
es of the choicest bulSilo meat, crowned 
with a cup of coffee, and enjoyed with prai- 
rie appetite, we felt, as we sat in barbaric 
luxury around our smoking supper on the 
grass, a greater sensation of enjoyment lliau 
the Roman epicure at his perfumed feast. 
But most of all it seemed to please our In- 
dian friends, who, in the unrestrained enjoy- 
ment of the moment, demanded to know if 
our " medicine days came often." No re- 
straint was exercised at the hospitable lx)ard, 
and, to the great delight of his eldcru, our 
young Indian lud made himself extremely 
drunk. 



1842.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



15 



Our encampment was within a few miles 
of the place where the road crosses to the 
north fork, and various reasons led me to di- 
vide my party at this point. The north fork 
was the principal object of my survey; but 
I was desirous to ascend the south branch, 
with a view of obtaining some astronomical 
positions, and determining the mouths of its 
tributaries as far as St. Vrain's fort, estimat- 
ed to be some two hundred miles further up 
H the river, and near to Long's peak. There 
I Iwped to obtain some mules, which I found 
would be necessary to relieve my horses. In a 
military point of view, I was desirous to form 
some opinion of the country relative to the es- 
tablishment of posts on a line connecting the 
settlements with the south pass of the 
Rocky mountains, by way of the Arkansas 
and the south and Laramie forks of the 
Platte. Crossing the country northwest- 
wardly from St. Vrain's fort, to the Ameri- 
can company's fort at the mouth of the La- 
ramie, would give me some acquaintance 
with the affluents which head in the moun- 
tains between the two ; I therefore deter- 
mined^to set out the next morning, accompa- 
nied by Mr. Preuss and four men, Maxv/ell, 
Bemier, Ayot, and Basil Lajeunesse. Our 
Cheyennes, whose village lay up this river, 
also decided to accompany us. The party I 
left in charge of Clement Lambert, with or- 
ders to cross to the north fork ; and at some 
convenient place, near to the Coulee des 
Frtnes, make a cache of everything not ab- 
solutely necessary to the further progress 
of our expedition. From this point, using 
the most guarded precaution in his march 
through the country, he was to proceed to 
the American company's fort at the mouth 
of the Laramie's fork, and await my arrival, 
which would be prior to the 16th, as on that 
and the following night would occur some 
occultations which I was desirous to obtain 
at that place. 

July 5. — Before breakfast all was ready. 
We had one led horse in addition to those 
we rode, and a packed mule, destined to car- 
ry our instruments, provisions, and baggage ; 
the last two articles not being of very groat 
weight. The instruments consisted of a 
sextant, artificial horizon, &c., a barometer, 
spy glass, and compass. The chronometer I 
of course kept on my person, I had ordered 
the cook to put up for ua some flour, coffee, 
and sugar, and our rifles were to furnish the 
rest. One blanket, in addition to his saddle 
and saddle blanket, furnished the materials 
for each man's bed, and every one was pro- 
vided \v'\\.\\ a change of linen. All were 
armed with rifles or double barrelled guns ; 
and, in addition to these. Maxwell and my- 
self were furnished with excellent pistols. 
Tlius accoutred, we took a parting breakfast 
with our friends, and set forth. 



Our journey the first day afforded nothing 
of any interest. We shot a buflalo tov/ara 
sunset, and having obtained some meat fof 
our evening meal, encamped where a little- 
timber afforded us the means of making a 
fire. Having disposed our meat on roasting 
sticks, we proceeded to unpack our bales in 
search of coffee and sugar, and flour for 
bread. With the exception of a little parch- 
ed coffee, unground, we found nothing. Our 
cook had neglected to put it up, or it had 
been somehow forojotten. Tired and hun- 
gry, with tough bull meat without salt (for 
we had not been able to kill a cow), and a 
little bitter coffee, we sat down in silence to 
our miserable fare, a very disconsolate party ; 
for yesterday's feast was yet fresh in our 
memories, and this was our first brush with 
misfortune. Each man took his blanket, 
and laid himself down silently ; for the worst 
part of these mishaps is, that they make 
people ill-humored. To-day we had travel- 
led about thirty-six miles. 

July 6. — Finding that our present excur- 
sion would be attended with considerable 
hardship, and unwilling to expose more per- 
sons than necessary, I determined to send 
Mr. Preuss back to the party. His horse, 
too, appeared in no condition to support the 
journey ; and accordingly, after breakfast, 
he took the road across the hills, attended 
by one of my most trusty men, Bernier. The 
ridge between the rivers is here about fifteen 
miles broad, and I expected he would proba- 
bly strike the fork near their evening camp. 
At all events he would not fail to find tlieir 
trail, and rejoin them the next day. 

We continued our journey, seven in num- 
ber, including the three Cheyennes. Our 
general course was southwest, up the valley 
of the river, which was sandy, bordered on 
the northern side of the valley by a low 
ridge ; and on the south, after seven or eight 
miles, the river hills became higher. Six 
miles from our resting place we crossed the 
bed of a considerable stream, now entirely 
dry — a bed of sand. In a grove of willows, 
near the mouth, were the rem.ains of a con- 
siderable fort, constructed of trunks of large 
trees It was apparently very old, and had 
probably been the scene of some hostile en- 
counter among the roving tribes. Its soli- 
tude formed an impressive contrast to the 
picture which our imaginations involunta- 
rily drew of the busy scene which had been 
enacted here. The timber appeared to have 
been much more extensive formerly than 
now. There were but few trees, a kind of 
long-leaved willovv, standing; and numerous 
trunks of large trees were scattered about 
on the ground. In many similar places I 
had occasion to remark an apparent progres- 
sive decay in the timber. Ten miles far- 
ther we reached the noouth of Lodge Pole 



1& 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1848. 



creek, a clear and handsome stream, run- 
ning through a broad valley. In its course 
through the bottom it has a uniform brcadtii 
of twenty-two feet, and six inches in depth. 
A few willows on the banks strike pleasant- 
ly on the eye, by their greenness, in the 
midf^t of the hot and barren sands. 

The amorpha was frequent among the 
ravines, but tlie sunflower (helianlhiLs) was 
the characteristic ; and flowers of deep 
warm colors seem most to love the sandy 
soil. The impression of the country travelled 
over to-day was one of dry and barren sands. 
We turned in towards the river at noon, 
and gave our horses two hours for food and 
rest. I had no other thermometer than the 
one attached to the barometer, which stood 
at 89°, the height of the column in the ba- 
rometer being ;26.235 at meridian. The sky 
was clear, with a high wind from the south. 
At 2, we continued our journey ; the wind 
had moderated, and it became almost unen- 
durably hot, and our animals suffered severe- 
ly. In the course of the afternoon, the wind 
rose suddenly, and blew hard from the south- 
west, with thunder and lightning, and squalls 
of rain ; these were blown against us with 
violence by the wind ; and, halting, we 
turned our backs to the storm until it blew 
over. Antelope were tolerably frequent, 
with a large grey hare ; but the former were 
Bhy. and the latter hardly worth the delay of 
stopping to shoot them ; so, as the evening 
drew near, we again had recourse to an old 
bull, and encamped at sunset on an island in 
the Platte. 

We ate our meat with a good relish this 
evening, for we were all in hue health, and 
had ridden nearly all of a long summer's 
day, with a burning sun reflected from the 
sands. My companions slept rolled up in 
their blankets, and the Indians lay in the 
grass near the fire ; but my sleeping place 
generally had an air of more pretension. 
Our rifles were tied together near the muz- 
zle, the butts resting on the ground, and a 
knife laid on the rope, to cut away in case 
of an alarm. Over this, which made a kind 
of frame, was thrown a large India rubber 
cloth, which we used to cover our packs. 
Tills made a tent sufficiently large to receive 
about half of my bed, and was a place of 
shelter for my instruments ; and as I was 
careful always to put this part against the 
wind, I could lie here with a sensation of 
satisfied enjoyment, and hear the wind blow, 
and the rain palter close to my head, and 
know that I should be at least half dry. 
Certainly I never slept more soundly. The 
barometer at sunset was 26.010, thermome- 
ter 81", and cloudy: but a gale from the 
west sprang up with the setting sun, and 
in a few minutes swept away every cloud 
from the sky. The evening was very fine, 



and I remained np to take some astronomi- 
cal observations, which made our position 
in latitude 40° 51' 17", and longitude 103" 
07' 00". 

Jul;/ 7. — At our camp this morning, at 6 
o'clock, the barometer was at 26 183, ther- 
mometer 69°, and clear, with a light wind 
from tiie southwest. The past ni^ht had 
been squally, with high windt-, and occasion- 
ally a tew drops of rain. Our cooking did 
not occupy much time, and we left camp 
early. Nothing of interest occurred durijig 
the morning. The same dreary barrenness, 
except that a hard marly clay had re|>Jace'i 
the sandy soil. Buffalo absolutely covered the 
plain on both sides the river, and whenever 
we ascended the hills, scattered herds gave 
life to the view in every direction. A small 
drove of wild horses made their appearance 
on the low river bottoms, a mile or two to 
the left, aid I sent off one of the Indiana 
(who seemed very eager to catch one) on my 
led horse, a spirited and fleet animal. The 
savage manoeuvred a little to get the wind 
of the horses, in which he succeeded — ap- 
proaching within a hundred yards without 
being discovered. The chase for a few 
minutes was interesting. My hunter easily 
overtook and passed the hindmost of the wild 
drove, which the Indian did not attempt to 
lasso; all his cfK>rts being directed to the 
capture of the leader. But the strength of 
the horse, weakened by the insufficient nour- 
ishment of grass, failed in a race, and all the 
drove escaped. We halted at noon on the 
bank of the river, the barometer at that time 
being 26 192, and the thermometer 103'', 
with a light air from the south, and clear 
weather. 

In the course of the afternoon, dust rising 
among the hills at a particular place, at- 
tracted our attention ; and, riding uj). we 
found a band of eighteen or twenty buffalo 
bulls engaged in a desperate fight. Though 
butting and goring were bestowed lil)eraJly, 
and without distinction, yet their efrort.-> were 
evidently directed against one — a Uwiio patmt 
old bull, very lean, while his adversaiics 
were all fat and in good order. He n|'|)eared 
\ery weak, and had already received some 
wounds, and, while we were looking on, was 
several times knocked down and badly hurt, 
and a very lew moments would have put an 
end to him. Of course, we tof>k the side of 
the weaker party, and attacked the liord ; but 
they were so blind with rajje, that thoy 
fought on, utterly regardless ot our presence, 
although on foot and on hotsehack we were 
firing in open view within twenty yards of 
them. But this did not last long. In a very 
few seconds, we creati'd a commotitvi auKiig 
them. One or two, which wrrc knocked 
over hy the balls, jumped up and ran off into 
the hills; and they began to retreat slowly 



1842.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



17 



aJongf a broad ravine to the river, fighting 
furiously as they went. By tlie time they 
Iwd reached the bottom, we had pretty well 
dispersed them, and the old bull hobbled ofi* 
to lie down somewhere. One of his enemies 
remained on the ground where we had first 
fired upon them, and we stopped there for a 
short time to cut fnjm him some meat for our 
supper. We had neglected to secure our 
horses, thinking it an unnecessary precaution 
in their fatigued condition ; but our mule 
took it itito his head to start, and away he 
went, followed at full speed by the pack 
horse, with all the baggage and instruments 
on his back. They were recovered and 
brought back, after a chase of a mile. For- 
tunately, everything was well secured, so 
that nothing, not even the barometer, was in 
the least injured. 

The sun was getting low, and some nar- 
row lines of timber four or five miles distant 
promised us a pleasant camp, where, with 
plenty of wood for fire, and comfortable shel- 
ter, and rich grass for our animals, we should 
find clear cool springs, instead of the warm 
water of the Platte. On our arrival, we 
found the be<l of a stream fifty to one hun- 
dred feet wide, sunk some thirty feet below 
the level of the prairie, with perpendicular 
banks, bordered by a fringe of green cotton- 
wood, but not a drop of water. There were 
several small forks to the stream, all in the 
fsame condition With the exxeption of the 
Platte bottom, the country seemed to be of a 
clay formation, dry, and perfectly devoid of 
any moisture, and baked hard by the sun. 
Turning ofFtowards the river, v/e reached the 
bank in about a mile, and were delighted to 
find an old tree, with thick foliage and 
spreading branches, where we encamped. 
At sunset, the barometer was at 25.950, 
thermometer 81°, with a stronof wind fromS. 
2()° E., and the sky partially covered with 
heavy masses of cloud, which settled a little 
towards the horizon by 10 o'clock, leaving it 
sufficiently clear for astronomical observa- 
tions, which placed us in latitude 40° 33' 26", 
and longitude 103° 30' 37". 

July 8. — The morning was very pleasant. 
The breeze was fresh from S. 50° E. with 
few clouds; the barometer at 6 o'clock stand- 
ing at 25.970, and the thermometer at 70°. 
Since leaving the forks, our route had passed 
over a country alternately clay and sand, 
each presenting the same naked waste. On 
leavinof camp this morning, we struck again 
a sandy region, in which the vegetation ap- 
peared somewhat more vigorous than that 
which we had observed for the last few days ; 
and on the opposite side of the river wer^ 
some tolerably large groves of timber. 

Journeying along, we came suddenly upon 
a place where the ground was covered with 
horses' tracks, which had been made since 



the rain, and indicated the immediate pres- 
ence of Indians in our neighborhood. The 
buffalo, too, which the day before had been so 
numerous, were nowhere in sight — another 
sure indication that there were people near. 
Riding on, we discovered the carcass of a 
buffalo recently killed — perhaps the day be- 
fore. We scanned the horizon carefully 
with the glass, but no living object was to be 
seen. For the next mile or two, the ground 
was dotted with buffalo carcasses, which 
showed that the Indians had made a surround 
here, and were in considerable force. We 
went' on quickly and cautiously, keeping the 
river bottom, and carefully avoiding the hills • 
but we met with no interruption, and began 
lo grow careless again. We had already 
lost one of our horses, and here Basil's mule 
showed symptoms of giving out. and finally 
refused to advance, being what the Canadians 
call resti. He therefore dismounted and 
drove her along before him ; but this was a 
very slow way of travelling. We had inad- 
vertently got about half a mile in advance, 
but our Cheyennes, who were generally a 
mile or two in the rear, remained with him. 
There were some dark-looking objects among 
the hills, about two miles to the left, here low 
and undulating, which we had seen for a 
little time, and supposed to be buffalo coming 
in to water : but, happening to look behind, 
Maxwell saw the Cheyennes whipping up 
furiously, and another glance at the dark 
objects showed them at once to be Indians 
coming up at speed. 

Had we been well mounted, and disen- 
cumbered of instruments, we might have set 
them at defiance ; but as it was, we were 
fairly caught. It was too late to rejoin our 
friends, and we endeavored to gain a clump 
of timber about half a mile ahead ; but the 
instruments and the tired state of our horses 
did not allow us to go faster than a steady 
canter, and they were gaining on us fast. 
At first, they did not appear to be more than 
fifteen or twenty in number, but group after 
group darted into view at the top of the hills, 
until all the little eminences seemed in mo- 
tion, and, in a few minutes from the time 
they were first discovered, two or three hun- 
dred, naked to the breech cloth, were sweep- 
ing across the prairie. In a few hundred 
yards we discovered that the timber we were 
endeavoring to make was on the opposite 
side of the river ; and before we could reach 
the bank, down came the Indians upon us. 

I am inclined to think that in a few sec- 
onds more the leading man, and perhaps 
some of his companions, would have rolled 
in the dust ; for we had jerked the covers 
from our guns, and our fingers were on the 
triggers; men in such cases generally act 
from instinct, and a charge from three hun- 
dred naked savages is a circumstance not 



18 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[184S: 



well calculated to promote a cool exercise of 
judgment. Just as he was about to fire, 
Maxwell recognized the leading Indian, and 
shouted to him in the Indian language, 
" You're a fool, G — damn yon, don't you 
know me?" The sound of his own lan- 
guage seemed to shock the savage, and, 
swerving his horse a little, he passed us like 
an arrow. He wheeled, as I rode out toward 
him, and gave me his hand, striking his 
breast and exclaiming "Arapaho!" They 
proved to be a village of that nation, among 
whom JVIaxwell had resided as a trader a year 
or two previously, and recognized him ac- 
cordingly. Wc were soon in the midst of 
the band, answering as well as we could a 
multitude of questions; of which the very 
first was, of what tribe were our Indian com- 
panions who were coming in the rear? They 
seemed disappointed to know that they were 
Cheyennes, for they had fully anticipated a 
grand dance around a Pawnee scalp that night. 

The chief showed us his village at a grove 
on the river six miles ahead, and pointed out 
a band of buffalo on the other side of the 
Platte, immediately opposite us, wliich ho 
said they were going to surround. They had 
seen the band early in the morning from their 
village, and had been making a large circuit, 
to avoid giving them the wind, when they 
discovered us. In a few minutes the women 
came galloping up, astride on their horses, 
and naked from their knees down, and the 
hips up. They followed the men, to assist 
in cutting up and carrying off the meat. 

The wind was blowing directly across the 
river, and the chief requested us to halt where 
we were for awhile, in order to avoid raising 
the herd. We therefore unsaddled our horses, 
and sat down on the bank to view the scene ; 
and our new acquaintances rode a few hun- 
dred yards lower down, and began crossing 
the river. Scores of wild-looking dogs fol- 
lowed, looking like troops of wolves, and 
having, in fact, but very little of the dog in 
their composition. Some of them remained 
with us, and I checked one of the men, wliom 
I found aiming atone, wliich he was about to 
kill for a wolf. The day had become very 
hot. The air was clear, with a very slight 
breeze ; and now, at 12 o'clock, while the ba- 
rometer stood at 25.920, the attached thermo- 
meter was at 108°. OurChcyenne.shadlearn- 
ned that with the Arapaho village were about 
twentylodges of their own, including their own 
families ; they therefore immediately com- 
menced making theirtoilette. After bathing in 
the river, they invested themselves in some 
handsome calico shirts, which I afterward 
learned they had stolen from my own men, and 
f-mt some time in arrangingtheir htir and 
iting themselves with some vermilion I 
Tiven them. While they were engaged 
1 satiflEactory manner, one of their half- 



wild horses, to which th€ crowd of prancing 
animals which had just passed had recalled 
the freedom of her existence among the wild 
drove.s on the prairie, suddenly da-shed into 
the hills at the top of her speed. She was 
thoir pack horse, and had on her back all the 
worldly wealth of our poor Cheyennes, all 
their accoutrements, and all the little articl«e 
v/hich they had picked up among ue, witli 
some few presents I had given them. The 
loss which they seemed to regret most were 
their spears and 8hield,s, and some tobacco 
which they had received from me. However, 
they bore it all with the philosophy of an In- 
dian, and laughingly continued their toilette. 
Tliey appeared, however, a little mortified at 
the thought of returning to the village in such 
a sorry plight. " Our people will laugh at 
us," said one of them, " returning to the vil- 
lage on foot, instead of driving back a drove 
of Pawnee horses." He demanded to know 
if I loved my sorrel hunter very much ; to 
which I replied, he was the object of my 
most intense affection. Far from being able 
to give, I was myself in want of horscw; and 
any suggestion of parting with the few I had 
valuable, was met with a peremptory refusal. 
In the meantime, the slaughter was about tO' 
commence on the other side. So soon as 
they reached it, the Indians separated into 
two bodies. One parly proceeded directly 
across the prairie, towards the hills, in an 
extended line, while the other went up the 
river ; and instantly as they had given the 
wind to the herd, the chase commenced. The 
buffalo started for the hills, but were inter- 
cepted and driven back toward the river, 
broken and running in every direction. The 
clouds of dust soon covered the whole scene, 
preventing us from having any but an occa- 
sional view. It had a very singular appear- 
ance to us at a distance, especially whea 
looking with the glass. We were t»o far to 
hear tiie report of the guns, or any sound ; 
and at every instant, through the clouds of 
du.st, which the sun made luminous, we could 
see for a moment two or three buffalo dashing 
along, and close behind them an Indian with 
his long spear, or other weapon, and instantly 
again they disappeared. The apparent si- 
lence, and the dimly seen figures fiitting by 
with such rapidity, gave it a kind of dreamy 
efilct,and seemed more like a picture than a 
scene of real life. It had been a large herd 
when the rern? commenced, probably three 
or four hundred in number ; but, though I 
watched them closely, I did not see one 
emerge from the fatal cloud where the work 
of destruction was going on. After remain- 
ing here about an hour, we resumed cur 
journey in the direction of the village. 

Gradually, as we rode on, Indian after In- 
dian camo drojyjing along, laden with moat ; 
aad by the time we had neared the lodges, 



1843.] 



GAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



19 



the backward road was covered with the re- 
turning horsemen. It was a pleasant con- 
trast with tfie desert road we had been trav- 
elling. Several had joined company with 
us, and one of the chiefs invited us to his 
lodge. Tlie village consisted of about one 
hundred and tweni-y-five lotlges, of which 
twenty were Cheyennes ; the latter pitched 
a little apart from the Arapahoes. They 
were disposed in a scattering maimer on both 
©ides of a braad irregular street, about one 
hundred and fifty feet wide, and running 
along tlie river. As we rode along, I re- 
marked near some of the lodges a kind of 
tripod frame, formed of three slender poles of 
birch, scraped very clean, to which were 
affixed the shield and spear, with some other 
weapons of a chief All were scrupulously 
clean, the spear head was burnished bright, 
and the shield white and stainless. It re- 
minded me of the days of feudal chivalry ; 
and when, a.s I rode by, I yielded to the pass- 
ing impulse, and touched one of the spotless 
shields with the muzzle of my gun, I almost 
expected a grim warrior to start from the 
lodge and resent my challenge. The master 
of the ledge spread out a robe for me to sit 
upon, and the squaws set before us a large 
wooden dish of buffalo meat. He had lit his 
pipe in the mean while, and when it had 
been passed around, we commenced our din- 
ner while he continued to smoke. Grad- 
ually, five or six other chiefs came in, and 
took their seats in silence. When we had 
finished, our host asked a number of ques- 
tions relative to the object of our journey, of 
which I made no concealment ; telling him 
eirnply that I had made a visit to see the 
country, preparatory U) the establishment of 
military posts on the way to the mountains. 
Although this was information of the high- 
est interest to them, and by no means calcu- 
lated to please them, it excited no expres- 
sion of surprise, and in no way altered the 
grave courtesy of their demeanor. The 
others listened and smoked. I remarked, 
tliat in taking the pipe for th« first time, 
each had turned the stem upward, with a 
rapid glance, as in offering to the Great 
Spirit, before he put it in his mouth. A 
storm had been gathering for the past hour, 
and some pattering drops on the lodge 
warned us that we had some miles to our 
camp. Some Indian had given Maxwell a 
bundle of dried meat, which was very ac- 
ceptable, as we had nothing; and, springing 
upon our horses, we rode off at dusk in the 
face of a cold shower and driving wind. 
We found our companions under some 
densely foliaged old trees, about three miles 
up the river. Under one of them lay the 
trunk of a Ijirfje cotton-wood, to leeward of 
which the men had kindled a fire, and we 
sat here and roasted our meat in tolerable I 



I shelter. Nearly opposite was the mouth of 
I one of the most considerable affluents of the 
Soutli fork, la Fourchs aux Castors (Beaver 
fork), heading off in the ridge to the south- 
east. 

Jtdy 9. — This morning we caught the 
first faint glimpse of the Rocky mountains, 
about sixty miles distant. Though a toler- 
ably bright day, there was a slight mist, and 
we were just able to discern the snowy sum- 
mit of " Long's peak" (" les deux oreilles " 
of the Canadians), showing like a small 
cloud near the horizon. I found it easily 
distinguishable, there being a perceptible 
diiference in its appearance from the white 
clouds that were floating about the sky. I 
was pleased to find that among the traders 
and voyageurs the name of "Long's peak " 
had been adopted and become familiar in the 
country. In the ravines near this place, a 
light brown sandstone made its first appear- 
ance. About 8, we discerned several per- 
sons on horseback a mile or two ahead, on 
the opposite side of the river. They turned 
in towards the river, and we rode down to 
meet them. We found them to be two 
white men, and a mulatto named Jim Beck- 
with, who had left St. Louis when a boy, 
and gone to live with the Crow Indians. 
He had distinguished himself among them 
by some acts of daring bravery, and had 
risen to the rank of a chief, but had now, for 
some years, left them. They were in search 
of a band of horses that had gone off from a 
camp some miles above, in charge of Mr. 
Chabonard. Two of them continued down 
the river, in search of the horses, and the 
American turned back with us, and we rod^ 
on towards the camp. About eight milps 
from our sleeping place we reached Bijou's 
fork, an aflluent of the right bank. Where 
we crossed it, a short distance from tlie 
Platte, it has a sandy bed about four hun- 
dred yards broad ; the water in various 
small streams, a few inches deep. Seven 
miles further brought us to a camp of some 
four or five whites (New Englanders, I be- 
lieve), who had accompanied Captain Wyeth 
to the Columbia river, and were independent 
trappers. All had their squaws with them, 
and I was really surprised at the number of 
little fat buffalo-fed boys that were tumbling 
about the camp, all apparently of the same 
age, about three or four years old. They 
were encamped on a rich bottom, covered 
with a profusion of fine grass, and had a 
large number of fine-looking horses and 
mules. We rested with them a few min- 
utes, and in about two miles arrived at Cha- 
bonard's camp, on an island in the Platte. 
On the heights above, we met the first Span- 
iard I had seen in the country. Mr. Chabo- 
nard was in the service of Bent and St. 
Vrain's company, and Iiad left their fort 



20 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



eome forty or fifty milee above, in the spring, 
with boats laden with the furs of the last 
year's trade. He had met the same fortune 
as the voyageurs on the North fork, and, 
finding it impossible to proceed, had taken 
up his summer's residence on this island, 
which he had named St. Helena. The 
river hills appeared to be composed entirely 
of sand, and the Platte had lost the muddy 
character of its waters, and here was toler- 
ably clear. From the mouth of the South 
fork, I had found it occasionally broken up 
by small islands ; and at the time of our 
journey, which was at a season of the year 
when the waters were at a favorable stage, 
it was not navigable for anything drawing 
six inches water. The current was very 
gwift — the bed of the stream a coarse gravel. 
From the place at which we had encoun- 
tered the Arapahoes, the Platte had been 
tolerably well fringed with timber, and the 
island here had a fine grove of very large 
cotton-woods, under whose broad shade the 
tents were pitched. There was a large 
drove of horses in the opposite prairie bot- 
tom ; smoke was rising from the scattered 
fires, and the encampment had quite a pa- 
triarchal air. Mr. C. received us hospita- 
bly. One of the people was sent to gather 
mint, with the aid of which he concocted 
very good julep ; and some boiled bwffalo 
tongue, and coffee with tlic luxury of sugar, 
were soon set before us. The people in his 
employ were generally Spaniards, and 
among them I saw a young Spanish woman 
from Taos, whom I found to be Beckwitfa's 
wife. 

July 10. — Wf? parted with our hospitable 
host a(te: breakfast the next morning, and 
reached St. Vrain's Fort, about forty-five 
miles from St. Helena, late in the evening. 
This post is situated on the South fork of 
the Platte, immediately under the moun- 
tains, about seventeen miles east of Long's 
peak. It is on the right bank, on the verge 
of the upland prairie, about forty feet above 
the river, of which the immediate valley is 
about six hundred yards wide. The stream 
is divided into various brandies by small 
islands, among whxh it runs with a swift 
current. The bed cf the river is sand and 
gravel, the water very clear, and here may 
be called a mountain stream. This region 
appears to be entirely free from the lime- 
stones and marls which give to the Lower 
Platte its yellow and diriy color. The Black 
hills lie between the stream and the moun- 
tains, whose snowy peaks glitter a few 
milfis beyond. At the fort we found Mr. St. 
Vrain, who received us with much kindness 
and hospitality. Maxwell had spent the last 
two or three years between this post and the 
village of Taos ; and here he was at home, 
and among his friends. Spaniards frequently 



come over in search of employment ; and 
several came in shortly after our arrival- 
They usually obtain about six dollars a 
month, generally paid to them in goods. 
Thoy are very useful in a camp, in taking 
care of horses and mules ; and I engaged 
one, who proved to be an active, laborious 
man, and was of very considerable servicQ 
to me. The elevation of the Platte here is 
five thousand four hundred feet above the 
.sea. The neighboring mountains did not 
appear to enter far the region ol perpetual 
snow, which was generally confined to the 
northern side of the peaks. On the south- 
ern, I remarked very little. Here it appear- 
ed, so far as I could judge in the distance, 
to descend but a few hundred feet below tho 
summits. 

I regretted that time did not permit me to 
visit them; but the proper object of my sur- 
vey lay among the mountains lurtber north ; 
and I looked forward to an exploration of 
their snowy recesses with great pleasure. 
The piney region of the mountains to the 
south was enveloped in smoke, and I was 
informed had been on fire for several months. 
Pike's peak is said to be visible from this 
place, about one hundred miles to the soutli- 
ward ; but the smoky state of the atmosphere 
prevented my seeing it. The weather con- 
tinued overcast during my stay here, so that 
I failed in determining the latitude, but ob- 
tained good observations for time on the 
mornings of the 11th and 12th. An assum- 
ed latitude of 40° 22' 30" from the evening 
position of the 12th, enabled me to obtain, 
for a tolerably correct longitude, 106° 12* 
12''/, 

July 12. — The kindness of Mr. St. Vrain 
had enabled me to obtain a couple of horses 
and three good mules ; and, with a further 
addition to our party of the Spaniard whom 
I had hired, and two others, who were going 
to obtain service at I^aramie's fork, we re- 
sumed our journey at 10, on the morning of 
the r2th. We had been able to procure 
nothing at the post, in the way of provision. 
An expected supply from Taos had not yet 
arrived, and a few pounds of cofTee was all 
that could be spared to us. In addition to 
this, we had dried meat enough for the first 
day ; on the ne.xt, we expected to find buf- 
falo. From this post, according to the esti- 
mate of the country, the fort at the mouth 
of Laramie's fork, which was our next 
point of destination, was nearly due north, 
distant about one hundred and twenty-five 
miles. 

For a short distance, our road lay down 
the valley of the Platte, which resembled a 
garden in the splendor of fieWa of varied 
flowers, which filled the air wjpi fragrance. 
The only timber I noticed, consiflted of poj>- 
lar, birch, cotton-wood, and willow, la 



1842.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



21 



something less than three miles, we crossed 1 
Thompson's creek, one of the affluents to the I 
left bank of the South fork — a fine stream 
about sixty-five feet wide, and three feet 
deep. Journeying on, the low dark line of 
the Black hilis lying between us and the 
mountains to the left, in alwut ten miles 
from the fort, we reached Cache d la Poudre, 
v/here wo halted to noon. This is a very 
beautiful mountain stream, about one hun- 
dred feet v.'ide, flowing with a full swift cur- 
rent over a rocky bed. We halted under 
the shade of some cotton-woods, with which 
the stream is wooded scatteringly. In the 
upper part of its course, it runs amid the 
wildest mountain scenery, and, breaking 
through the Black hiiis, falls into the Platte 
about ten miles below this place. In the 
course of our late journey, I had managed 
to become the possessor of a very untracta- 
ble mule — a perfect vi.xen — and her I had 
turned over to my Spaniard. It occupied us 
about half an hour to-day to get the saddle 
opon her ; but, once on her back, Jose could 
not be dismounted, realizing the accounts 
given of Mexican horses and horsemanship; 
and we continued our route in the after- 
noon. 

At evening, we encamped on Crow (?) 
creek, having travelled about twenty-eight 
miles. None of the party were well ac- 
quainted with the country, and I had great 
difficulty in ascertaining what were the 
names of the streams we crossed between 
the North and South forks of the Platte. 
This I supposed to be Crow creek. It is 
what is called a salt stream, and the water 
stands in pools, having no continuous course. 
A fine-grained sandstone made its appear- 
ance in the banks. The observations of the 
night placed us in latitude 40o 42', longi- 
tude 104° 67' 49". The barometer at sun- 
set was 25.231 ; attached thermometer at 
66°. Sky clear, except in the east, with a 
light wind from the north. 

July 13. — There being no wood here, we 
tised last night the hois de vache, which is 
very plentiful. At oar camp this morning, 
the barometer was at 25.235 ; the attached 
thermometer 60°. A few clouds were mov- 
ing tlirough a deep blue sky, with a light 
wind from the v/est. After a ride of twelve 
miles, in a northerly direction, over a plain 
covered with innumerable quantities of c«c/?, 
we reached a small creek in which there was 
water, and where several herds of buffalo 
were scattered about among tlie ravines, 
which always afford good pasturage. We 
seem now to be passing along the base of a 
plateau of the Black hills, in which the for- 
mation consists of marls, some of them white 
and laminated ; the country to the left rising 
suddenly, and falling off gradually and uni- 
formly to the right. la five or six miles of 



a northeasterly course, we struck a high 
ridge, broken into conical peaks, on whose 
summits large boulders were gathered in 
heaps. The magnetic direction of the ridge 
is northwest and southeast, the glittering 
white of its precipitous sides making it visible 
for many miles to the south. It is composed 
of a soft earthy limestone and marls, resem- 
bling that, hereafter described, in the neigh- 
borhood of the Chimney rock, on the North 
fork of the Platte, easily worked by the winds 
and rains, and sometimes moulded inio very 
fantastic shapes. At the foot of the northern 
slope was the bed of a creek, some forty feet 
wide, coming, by frequent falls, from the 
bench above. It was shut in by high per- 
pendicular banks, in which were strata of 
white laminated marl. Its bed was perfectly 
dry. and the leading feature of the whole re- , 
gion is one of remarkable aridity, and perfect 
ireedom from moisture. In about six miles 
we crossed the bed of another dry creek; and, 
continuing our ride over a high level prairie, 
a little before sundown we came suddenly 
upon a beautiftil creek, which revived us 
with a feeling of delighted surprise by the 
pleasant contrast of the deep verdure of its 
banks with the parched desert we had passed. 
We had suffered much to-day, both men and 
horses, for want of water ; having met with 
it but once in our uninterrupted march of 
forty miles, and an exclusive meat diet cre- 
ates much thirst. 

" Las bestias tienen mucka hambre" said 
the young Spaniard, inquiringly ; " y la genie 
tambKU,'" said I, " amigo, we'll camp here." 
A stream of good and clear water ran wind- 
ing about through the little valley, and a 
herd of buffiilo were quietly feeding a little 
distance below. It was quite a hunter's pa- 
radise ; and while some ran down toward the 
band to kill one for supper, others collected 
bois de vache for a fire, there being no wood ; 
and I amused myself with hunting for plants 
among the grass. 

It v/ill be seen, by occasional remarks on 
the geological formation, that the constitui- 
ents of the soil in these regions are good, 
and every day served to strengthen the im- 
pression in my mind, confirmed by subse- 
quent observation, that the barren appear- 
ance of the country is due almost entirely to 
the extreme dryness of the climate. Along 
our route, the country had seemed to increase 
constantly in elevation. According to the 
indication of the barometer, we were at our 
encampment 5,440 feet above the sea. 

The evening was very clear, with a fresh 
breeze from, the south, SOo east. The baro- 
meter at sunset was 24.862, the thermometer 
attached showing 68". I supposed this to 
be a fork of Lodge Pole creek, so far as I 
could determine from our uncertarn measi9 
of information. Astronomical observotifldS 



22 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



gave for the camp a longitude of 104° 39' 
37", and latitude 41° 08' 31 ". 

Juhj 14. — The wind continued fresh from 
tlie same quarter in the morning; the day 
bcinpr clear, with the exception of a few 
clouds in the horizon. At our camp at 6 
o'clock, the height of the barometer was 
24.830, the attached thermometer 61° Our 
course this morning was directly north by 
compass, the variation being 15° or 16° east- 
erly. A ride of four miles brought us to 
Lodge Pole creek, which we had seen at its 
mouth on the South fork ; crossing on the 
way two dry streams, in eighteen miles from 
our encampment of the past night, we readi- 
ed a high bleak ridge, composed entirely of 
the same earthy )imestone and marl previ- 
ously described. I had never seen anytiiing 
which impressed so strongly on my mind a 
feeling of desolation. The valley, through 
which ran the waters of Horse creek, lay in 
view to the north, but too far to have any in- 
fluence on the immediate view. On the peak 
of the ridge where I was standing, some six 
or seven hundred feet above the river, the 
wind was high and bleak ; the barren and 
arid country seemed as if it had been swept 
by fires, and in every direction the same dull 
ash-colored hue, derived from the formation, 
met the eye. On the summits were some 
stunted pines, many of them dead, all wear- 
ing the same ashen hue of desolation. We 
left the place with pleasure ; and, after we 
had descended several hundred feet, halted 
in one of the ravines, which, at the distance 
of every mile or two, cut the flanks of the 
ridge with little rushing streams, wearing 
something of a mountain character. We 
had already begun to exchange the compara- 
tively barren lands for those of a more fertile 
character. Though the sandstone formed the 
broken banks of the creek, yet they were 
covered with a thin grass; and the fifty or 
eixty feet which formed the bottom land of 
the little stream were clothed with very luxu- 
riant grass, among which I remarked willow 
tnd cherry {cerasus tirginiana) ; and a 
quantity of gooseberry and currant bushes 
occupied the greater part. 

The creek was three or four feet hroad, 
iind about si.x inches deep, with a swift cur- 
•xent of clear water, and tolerably cool. We 
had struck it too low down to find the cold 
water, which we should have enjoyed nearer 
to its sources. At 2, p. m., the barometer 
was at 25 050, the attached thermometer 
104°. A day of hot sunshine, with clouds, 
and moderate breeze from the south. Con- 
tinuing down the stream, in about four miles 
we reached its mouth, at one of the main 
branches of Horse creek. Looking back 
upon the ridge, whose direction appeared to 
be a little to the north of cast, we saw it 
seamed at frequent intervals with the dark 



lines of wooded streams, affluents of the river 
that flowed so far as we could see along \ta 
base. We crossed, in the space of twelve 
miles from our noon halt, three or four forks 
of Horse creek, and encamped at sunset on 
the most easterly. 

The fork on which we encamped appeared 
to have followed an easterly direction up to 
this place ; but here it makes a very sudden 
bend to the north, passing between two 
ranges of precipitous hills, called, as I was 
informed, Goshen's hole. There is some- 
where in or near this locality a place bo call- 
ed, but I am not certain that it was the place 
of our encampmc-nt. Looking back upon 
the spot, at the distance of a few miles to the 
northward, the hills appear to shut in the 
prairie, through which runs the creek, with 
a semi-circular sweep, which might very na- 
turally be called a hole in the hills. The 
geological composition of the ridge is the 
same which constitutes the rock of the Court- 
house and Chimney, on the North fork, which 
appeared to me a continuation of this ridge. 
The winds and rains work this formation into 
a variety of singular forms. The pass into 
Goshen's hole is about two miles wide, and 
the hill on tlie western side imitates, in an 
extraordinary mannw, a massive fortified 
place, with a remarkable fulness of detail. 
The rock is marl and earthy limestone, white, 
without the least appearance of vegetation, 
and much resembles masonry at a little dis' 
tance ; and here it sweeps around a level 
area two or three hundred yards in diameter, 
and in the form of a half moon, terminating 
on either extremity in enormous bastions. 
Along the whole line of the parapets appear 
domes and slender minareLs, forty or fifty 
feet high, giving it every appearance of an 
old fortified town. On the waters of White 
river, where this formation exists in great 
extent, it presents appearances which excite 
the admiration of the solitary voyageur, and 
form a frequent theme of their conversation 
when speaking of the wonders of the coun- 
try. Sometimes it offers the jjcrfectly illu- 
sive appearance of a large ciiy, with nume- 
rous streets and magnificent buildings, among 
which the Canadians never iail to see their 
cabaret ; and sometimes it takes the form of 
a solitary house, with many large chamber.?, 
into which they drive their horfoe at night, 
and sleep in these natural defences perrc<;tly 
secure from any attack of prowling savages. 
Before reaching our camp at Goshen's hole, 
in crossing the immense detritus at the foot 
of the Castle rock, we were involved amidst 
winding passages cut by the waters of the 
hill ; and where, with a breadth scarcely 
large enough for the passage of a horse, the 
walls rise thirty and forty feet perpendicular- 
ly. This formation supplies the discoloration 
of the Platte. At sunset, the height of tlio 



1842.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



S3 



meTCurial column was 25.500, the attached 
thermometer 80°, and wind moderate from 
S. 38° E. Clouds covered the sky with the 
r>ae of the moon, but I succeeded in obtain- 
ing the usual astronomical observations, 
which placed us in latitude 41° 40' 13", and 
longitude 104° 24' 3G". 

July 15. — At 6 this morning, the barome- 
ter was at 26.515, the thermometer 72° ; the 
day was fine, with some clouds looking dark 
on the south, with a fresh breeze from the 
same quarter. We found that in our jour- 
ney across the country we had kept too 
much to the eastward. This morning, accord- 
ingly, wc travelled by compass some 15 or 
20 to the west of north, and struck tlie 
Platte some thirteen miles below Fort Lara- 
mie. The day was extremely hot, and 
among the hills the wind seemed to hjve 
JQst issued from.an oven. Our horses were 
rai>ch distressed, as we had travelled hard ; 
and it was with some diificulty that they 
were all brought to the Platte ; which we 
reached at 1 o'clock. In riding in towards 
the river, we found the trail of our carts, 
which appeared to have passed a day or two 
eince. 

After having allowed our animals two 
hcHira for food and repose, we resumed our 
journey, and towards the close of the day 
came in sight of Laramie's fork. Issuing 
from the river hills, we came first in view of 
Fort Platte, a po<?t belonging to Messrs. Sy- 
billc, Adams & Co., situated immediately in 
the point of land at the junction of Laramie 
with the Platte. Like the post we had visited 
on the South fork, it was built of earth, and 
etill unfinished, being enclosed with walls 
{or rather houses) on three of the sides, and 
open on the fourth to the river. A few hun- 
dred ya»ds brought us in view of the post of 
the American Fur Company, called Fort 
John, or Laramie. This was a large post, 
having more the air of military construction 
than the fort at the mouth of the river. It 
is on the left bank, on a rising ground some 
twenty-five feet above the water; and its 
lofty walls, whitewashed and picketed, with 
the large bastions at the angles, gave it quite 
an imposing appearance in the uncertain 
light of evening. A cluster of lodges, which 
the language told us belonged to Sioux Indi- 
ans, was pitched under the walls, and, v/ith 
the fine back ground of the Black hills and 
the prominent peak of Laramie mountain, 
strongly drawn in the clear light of the west- 
ern sky, where the sun had already set, the 
whole formed at the moment a strikingly 
beautiful picture. From the company at St. 
Louis I had letters for Mr. Boudeau, the 
gentleman in charge of the post, by whom I 
was received with great hospitrility and an 
ofBcient kindness, which was invaluable to 
me daring my stay in the country. I found 



our people encamped on the bank, a short 
distance above tlie fort. All were well: 
and, in the enjoyment of a bountiful supper, 
which cofFee and bread made luxurious to us, 
we scon forgot the fatigues of the last ten 
days. 

Juhj 16. — I found that, during my absence, 
the situation of affliirs had undergone some 
change ; and the usual quiet and somewhat 
monotonous regularity ol' the camp liad given 
place to excitem.ent and alarm. The cir- 
cumstances which occasioned this change 
will be found narrated in the following ex- 
tract from the journal of Mr. Preuss, which 
commences with the day of our separation 
on the South fork of the Platte. 

Extract from the journal of Mr. Preuss. 

"July 6. — We crossed the plateau or high- 
land between the two forks in about six 
hours. I let my horse go as slow as he 
liked, to indemnify us both for the previous 
hardship ; and about noon we reached the 
North fork. There was no sign that our 
party had passed ; we rode, therefore, to 
some pine trees, unsaddled the hoi-ses, and 
stretched our limbs on the grass, awaiting 
the arrival of our company. After remain- 
ing here two hours, my companion became 
impatient, mounted his horse again, and rode 
off down the river to see if he could discover 
our people. I felt so marode yet, that it was 
a horrible idea to me to bestride that saddle 
again ; so I lay still. I knew they could not 
come any other v/ay, and then my, compa- 
nion, one of the best men of the company, 
would not abandon me. The sun went 
down ; he did not come. Uneasy I did not 
feel, but very hungry; I had no provisions, 
but i could make a fire ; and as I espied two 
doves in a tree, I tried to kill one ; but it 
needs a better marksman than myself to kill 
a little bird with a rifle. I made a large 
fire, however, lighted my pipe — this true 
friend of mine in every emergency — lay 
down, and let my thoughts wander to the far 
east. It was not many minutes after when 
I heard tlie tramp of a horse, and my faithful 
companion was by my side. He had found 
the party, v;ho had been delayed by making 
their cciche, about seven miles below. To 
tl'.e good supper which he brought with him 
I did ample justice. He had forgotten salt„ 
and I tried the soldier's substitute in time of 
war, and used gunpowder ; but it answered 
badly — bitier enough, but no flavor of kitchen 
salt. 1 slept well ; and was only disturbed 
by two owls, which were attracted by the 
fire, and took their place in the tree under 
which we slept. Their music seemed as 
disagreeable to my companion as to myself; 
he fired hia rifle twice, and then they let us 
alone. 



24. 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1842. 



" Jmij 7. — At about 10 o'clock, the party 
arrived ; and we continued our journey 
througli a country whicii offered but little to 
interest the traveller. The soil was much 
more sandy than in the valley bciow the con- 
fluence of the forks, and the face of tiie 
country no longer presented the refreshing 
green which had liitherto characterized it. 
The rich grass was now found only in dis- 
persed spots, on low grounds, and on tlie 
bottom land of the streams. A long drought, 
joined to extreme heat, had so parched up 
the upper prairies, that they were in many 
places bald, or covered only with a thin 
growth of yellow and poor grass. The na- 
ture of the soil renders it extremely suscep- 
tible to the vicissitudes of the climate. Be- 
tween the forks, and from their junction to 
the Black hills, the formation consists of 
marl and a soft earthy limestone, with grani- 
tic sandstone. Such a formation cannot give 
rise to a sterile soil ; and, on our return in 
September, when the country had been wa- 
tered by frequent rains, the valley of ihe 
Platte looked like a garden ; so rich was the 
verdure of the grasses, and so luxuriant the 
bloom of abundant flowers. The wild sage 
begins to make its appearance, and timber 
is so scarce that we generally made our tires 
of the bois d'e vache. With the exception of 
now and then an isolated tree or two, stand- 
ing like a light-house on the river bank, 
there is none whatever to be seen. 

" July 8. — Our road to-day was a solitary 
one. No game made its appearance — not 
even a ])utFalo or a stray antelope ; and 
nothing Occurred to break the monotony 
until about 6 o'clock, when the caravan 
made a sudden halt. There was a galloping 
in of scouts and horsemen from every side — 
a hurrying to and fro in noisy confusion ; 
rifles were taken from their cover ; bullet 
pouches examined : in short, there was the 
cry of ' Indians,' heard again. I had be- 
come so much accustomed to these alarms, 
that now they made but little impression on 
me ; and before I had time to become excited, 
the new comers were ascertained to be 
whites. It was a large party of traders and 
trappers, conducted by Mr. Bridger, a man 
well known in the history of the country. 
As the sun was low, and there v.'as a line 
grass patch not far ahead, tliey turned back 
and encamped for the night with us Mr. 
Bridger was invited to supper ; and, after the 
lable cloth was removed, we listened with 
eager interest to an accoimt of tiieir adven- 
tures. What they had met, we would be 
likely to encounter ; the chances which had 
befallen them, would probably happen to us ; 
and we looked upon their liie as a picture 
of our own. Me informed us tiiat the con- 
dition of the country had become exceeding- 
ly dangerous. The Sioux, who had beeu 



badly disposed, had broken out into open 
hostility, and in the preceding autumn his 
party had encountered them in a severe en- 
gagement, in whicli a number of lives had 
been lost on botii sides. United with the 
Cheyenne and Gros Ventre Indians, they 
were scouring the upper country in war par- 
ties of great force, and were at this time in 
the neighborhood of the Red Butles, a fia.- 
mous landmark, which was directly on our 
path. They had declared war upon every 
living thing which should be found westward 
of that point ; though their main object was 
to attack a large camp of whites and Snake 
Indians, who had a rendezvous in the Sweet 
Water valley. Availing himself of his inti- 
mate knowledge of the country, he had 
reached Laramie by an unusual route througlj 
the Black hills, and avoided coining into 
contact with any of the scattered parties. 
This gentleman offered his Services to ac- 
company u.s so far as the head of the Sweet 
Water ; but the absence of our leader, which 
was deeply regretted by us all, rendered it 
impossible for us to enter upon such ar- 
rangements. In a camp consisting ol inen 
whose lives had been spent in this country, 
I expected to find every one prepared tor oc- 
currences of this nature ; but, to my great 
surprise, I found, on the contrary, tlial tliis 
news had tiirown them all into the greatest 
consternation ; and, on every side, 1 heard 
only one exclamation, ' 11 ny aura j;as de vie 
1)our nous.' All the night, scattered groups 
were assembled around the lires, smoking 
their pipes, and listening with the greaiest 
eagerness to exaggerated details ot Indian 
hostilities ; and in the morning I found liie 
camp disjjirited, and agitated by a variety of 
conllicting Ojiinions. A majoniy ot the peo- 
ple were strongly disposed to return ; but 
Cl6ment Lambert, with some hve or 3t.\ oth- 
ers, professed their determination to lollow 
Mr. Fremont to the uttermost limit of nia 
journey. The others yielded to their re- 
monstrances, and, somewhat ashamed of 
their cowardice, concluded to advance at 
least so far as Laramie fork, eastward of 
which they were aware no danger was to be 
apprehended. Notwithstanding the coniu- 
sion and excitement, we were very eany oo 
the road, as the days were extremely liot, 
and we were anxious to proht by tlie ire.'-h- 
ness of the morning. The solt mariy lona- 
ation, over which we were now joiinn'ying, 
frequently offers to the traveller views ol re- 
markable and |)icturesqiie beauty. To seve- 
ral of these localities, where the winds and 
the rain have worked the bliilx- into curious 
shapes, the voyageurs have given names ac- 
cording to some landed resemblance. One 
of these, called the Cuurt-.iou.-e. we passed 
about six miles from our eiica iipmeni ol last 
night, and toward noon came in siglii oi the 



1842.] 



CAPT. FREI^^'^NT'S NARRATIVE. 



25 



celebrated Chimney rock. It looks, at thip 
distance of about thirty miles, like what i. ;. | 
called — the long chimney of a steam factory 
establishment, or a shot tower in 'Baltimore. 
Nothing occurred to interrupt the quiet of 
the day, and we encamped on the river, after 
a march of twenty-four miles. Buffalo had 
become very scarce, and but one cow had 
been killed, of wiiich the meat had been cut 
into thin slices, and hung around the carts 
to dry. 

" July 10. — We continued along the same 
fine plainly t)eaten road, which the smooth 
surfiice of the country afforded us, for a dis- 
tance of six hundred and thirty miles, from 
the frontiers of Missouri to the Laramie fork. 
In the course of the day we met some whites, 
who were following along in the train of 
Mr. Bridger ; and, after a day's journey of 
twenty-four miles, encamped about sunset at 
the Chimney rock. It consists of marl and 
earthy limestone, and the weather is rapidly 
diminishing its height, which is now not 
more than two hundred feet above the river. 
Travellers who visited it some years since 
placed its height at upwards of 500 feet. 

" July 11.— The valley of the North fork 
is of a variable breadth, from one to four, 
and sometimes six miles. Fifteen miles 
from the Chimney rock we reached one of 
those places where the river strikes the 
bluffs, and forces the road to make a con- 
siderable circuit over the uplands. This 
presented an escarpment on the river of about 
nine hundred yards in length, and is fami- 
liarly known as Scott's bluffs. We had 
made a journey of thirty miles before we 
again struck the river, at a place where 
some scanty grass afforded an insufficient 
pasturage to our animals. About twenty 
miles from the Chimney rock we had found 
a very beautiful spring of excellent and cold 
water ; but it was in such a deep ravine, and 
so small, that the animals could not profit by 
it, and we therefore halted only a few min- 
■utes, and found a resting place ten miles 
further on. The plain between Scott's bluffs 
and Chimney rock was almost entirely co- 
vered with drift wood, consisting principally 
of cedar, which we were informed, had been 
supplied from the Black hills, in a flood five 
Of six years since. 

"July 12. — Nine miles from our encamp- 
ment of yesterday we crossed Horse creek, 
a shallow stream of clear water, about se- 
venty yards wide, falling into the Platte on 
the right bank. It \yas lightly timbered, 
and great quantities of drift wood were piled 
up on the banks, appearing to be supplied 
by the creek from above. After a journpy 
of twenty-six miles, we encamped on a rich 
bottom, which afforded fine grass to our ani- 
mals. Buffalo have entirely disappeared, 
and we live now upoa the dried meat, v/hich 



is exceedingly poor food. The marl and 
eanhv limestone, which constituted the 
formation for several days past, had changed 
during the day into a compact white or grey- 
ish white limestone, sometimes containing 
hornstone ; and at the place of our encamp- 
ment this evening, some strata in the river 
hills cropped out to the height of thirty or 
forty feet, consisting of a fine-grained gra- 
nitic sandstone ; one of the strata closely 
resembling gneiss. 

" July }3. — To-day, about 4 o'clock, we 
reached Fort Laramie, where we were cor- 
dially received; we pitched our camp a lit- 
tle above the fort, on the bank of the Lara- 
mie river, in which the pure and clear water 
of the mountain stream looked refreshingly 
cool, and made a pleasant contrast to the 
muddy, yellow waters of the Platte." 

I walked up to visit our friends at the fort, 
which is a quadrangular structure, built of 
clay, after the fashion of the Mexicans, who 
are generally employed in building them. 
The walls are about fifteen feet high, sur- 
mounted with a wooden palisade, and form a 
portion of ranges of houses, which entirely 
surround a yard of about one hundred and 
thirty feet square. Every apartment has its 
door and window — all, of course, opening on 
the inside. There are two entrances, oppo- 
site each other, and midway the wall, one 
of which is a large and public entrance ; the 
other smaller and more private — a sort of 
postern gate. Over the great entrance is a 
square tower with loopholes, and, like the 
rest of the work, built of earth. At two of 
the angles, and diagonally opposite each 
other, are large square bastions, so arranged 
as to sweep the four faces of the walls. 

This post belongs to the American Fur 
Company, and, at the time of our visit, was 
in charge of Mr. Boudeau. Two of the 
company's clerks, Messrs. Galpin and Kel- 
logg, were with him, and he had in the fort 
about sixteen men. As usual, these had 
found vrives among the Indian squaws ; and, 
with the usual accompaniment of children, 
the place had quite a populous appearance. 
It is hardly necessary to say, that the object 
of the establishment is trade with the neigh- 
boring tribes, who, in the course of the year, 
generally make two or three visits to the 
fort. In addition to this, traders, with a 
small outfit, are constantly kept amongst 
them. The articles of trade consist, on the 
one side, almost entirely of buffalo robes ; 
and, on the other, of blankets, calicoes, 
guns, powder and lead, with such cheap or- 
nansents as glass beads, looking-glasses, 
rings, vermilion for painting, tobacco, and 
principally, and in spite of the prohibition, of 
spirits, brought into the country in the form 
of alcohol, and diluted with water before 
sold. While mentioning this fact, it is but 



23 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1842. 



justice to the American Fur Company to 
state, that, throughout the country, I have 
always found them strenuously opposed to 
the introduction of spirituous liquors. But, 
in the present state of things, when the coun- 
try is supplied with alcohol, when a keg of it 
will purchase from an Indian everything he 
possesses — his furs, his lodge, liis horses, 
and even his wife and children — and when 
any vagabond who has money enough to 
purchase a mule can go into a village and 
trade against them successfully, without 
withdrawing entirely from the trade, it is 
impossible for them to discontinue its use. 
In their opposition to this practice, the com- 
pany is sustained, not only by their obliga- 
tion to the laws of the country and the wel- 
fare of the Indians, but clearly, also, on 
grounds of policy ; for, with heavy and ex- 
pensive outfits, they contend at manifestly 
great disadvantage against the numerous in- 
dependent and unlicensed traders, who enter 
the country from various av*enues, from the 
United States and from Mexico, having no 
other stock in trade than some kegs of li- 
quor, which they sell at the modest price of 
thirty-six dollars per gallon. The difference 
between the regular trader and the cojireur 
des bois (as the French call the itinerant or 
peddling traders), with respect to the sale 
of spirits, is here, as it always has been, 
fixed and permanent, and growing out of the 
nature of their trade. The regular trader 
looks ahead, and has an interest in the pre- 
servation of the Indians, and in the regular 
pursuit of their business, and the preserva- 
tion of their arms, horses, and everything 
necessary to their future and permanent suc- 
cess in hunting : the coiireur des bois has no 
permanent interest, and gets what he can, 
and for what he can, from every Indian he 
meets, even at the risk of disabling him 
from doing anything more at hunting. 

The fort had a very cool and clean appear- 
ance. The great entrance, in which I found 
the gentlemen assembled, and which was 
floored, and about fifteen feet long, made a 
pleasant, shaded seat, through which the 
breeze swept constantly ; for this country is 
famous for high winds. In tlie course of 
conversation, I learned the following parti- 
culars, which will explain the condition of 
the country : For several years the Chey- 
ennes and Sioux had gradually become more 
and more hostile to the whites, and in the 
latter part of August, 1841, had had a rather 
severe engagement with a party of sixty 
men, under the command of Mr. Frapp, of 
St. Louis. The Indians lost eight or ten 
warriors, and the whites had their leader and 
four men killed. This fight took place on 
the waters of Snake river ; and it was this 
party, on their return under Mr. Bridger, 
which had spread so much alarm among my 



people. In tlie course of the spring, two 
other small parties had been cut oft' by the 
Sioux — one on their return from the Crow 
nation, and the other among the Black hills. 
The emigrants to Oregon and Mr. Bridger's 
party met here, a few days before our arri- 
val. Divisions and misunderstandings had 
grown up among them ; they were aiready 
somewhat disheartened by the fatigue of 
tiieir long and wearisome journey, and the 
feet of their cattle had become so much 
worn as to be scarcely able to travel. In 
this situation, they were not likely to find 
encouragement in the hostile attitude of the 
Indians, and the new and unexpected diffi- 
culties which sprang up before them. They 
were told that the country was entirely 
swept of grass, and that few or no buffalo 
were to be found on their line of route ; and, 
with their weakened animals, it would be 
impossible for them to transport their h^avy 
wagons over the mountains. Under these 
circumstances, they disposed of their wagons 
and cattle at the forts ; selling them at the 
prices they had paid in the States, and tak- 
ing in exchange coffee and sugar at one dol- 
lar a pound, and miserable worn-out horses, 
which died before they reached the moun- 
tains. Mr. Boudeau informed me that he 
had purchased thirty, and the lower fort 
eighty head of fine cattle, some of them of 
the Durham breed. Mr. Fitzpatrick, whose 
name and high reputation are familiar to all 
who interest themselves in the history of 
this country, had reached Laramie in com- 
pany with Mr. Bridger ; and the emigrants 
were fortunate enough to obtain his services 
to guide them as far as the British post of 
Fort Hall, about two hundred and fifty miles 
beyond the South Pass of the mountains. 
They had started for this post on the 4th of 
July, and immediately after their departure, 
a war party of three hundred and fifty 
braves set out upon their trail. As their 
principal chief or partisan had lost some re- 
lations in the recent fight, and had sworn to 
kill the first whites on his path, it was sup- 
posed that their intention was to attack the 
party, should a favorable opportunity offer ; 
or, if they were foiled in their principal ob- 
ject by the vigilance of Mr. Fitzpatrick, con- 
tent themselves with stealing horses and 
cutting off stragglers. These had been gone 
but a few days previous to our arrival. 

The effect of the engagement with Mr. 
Frapp had been greatly to irritate the hestile 
spirit of the savages ; and immediately sub- 
sequent to that event, the Gross Ventre In- 
dians had united with the Oglallahs and 
Cheyennes, and taken the field in great 
force — so far as I could ascertain, to the 
amount of eight hundred lodges. Their ob- 
ject was to make an attack on a camp of 
Snake and Crow Indians, and a body of 



1842.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



27 



about one hundred whites, who had made a 
rendezvous somewhere in the Green river 
valley, or on the Sweet Water. After 
spending some time in buffalo hunting in the 
neighborhood of the Medicine Bow moun- 
tain, they were to cross over to the Green 
river waters, and return to Laramie by way 
of the South Pass and the Sweet Water val- 
ley. According to tlie calculation of the In- 
dians, Mr. Boudeau informed me they were 
somewhere near the head of the Sweet 
Water. I subsequently learned that the 
party led by Mr. Fitzpatrick were overtaken 
by their pursuers near Rock Independence, 
in the valley of the Sweet Water ; but his 
skill and resolution saved them from sur- 
prise, and, small as his force was, they did 
not venture to attack him openly. Here 
they lost one of their party by an accident, 
and, continuing up the valley, they came 
suddenly upon the large village. From 
these they met with a doubtful reception. 
Long residence and familiar acquaintance 
had given to Mr. Fitzpatrick great personal 
influence among them, and a portion of them 
were disposed to let him pass quietly ; but 
by far the greater number were inclined to 
hostile measures ; and the chiefs spent the 
whole of one night, during which they kept 
the little party in the midst of them, in 
council, debating the question of attacking 
them the next day ; but the influence of 
'• the Broken Hand," as they called Mr. Fitz- 
patrick (one of his hands having been shat- 
tered by the bursting of a gun), at length 
prevailed, and obtained for them an unmo- 
lested passage ; but they sternly assured 
him that this path was no longer open, and 
that any party of whites which should here- 
after be found upon it would meet with cer- 
tain destruction. From all that I have been 
able to learn, I have no doubt that the emi- 
grants owe their lives to Mr. Fitzpatrick. 

Thus it would appear that the country 
was swarming with scattered war parties ; 
and when I heard, during the day, the vari- 
ous contradictory and exaggerated rumors 
which were incessantly repeated to them, I 
was not surprised that so much alarm pre- 
vailed among my men. Carson, one of the 
best and most experienced mountaineers, 
fully supported the opinion given by Bridger 
of th< dangerous state of the country, and 
openly expressed his conviction that we 
could not escape without some sharp en- 
counters with the Indians. In addition to 
this, he made his will ; and among the cir- 
cumstances which were constantly occurring 
to increase their alarm, this was the most 
unfortunate ; and I found that a number of 
my party had become so much intimidated, 
that they had requested to be discharged at 
this place. I dined to-day at Fort Platte, 
which has been mentioned as situated at the 



junction of Laramie river with the Nebraska. 
Here I heard a confirmation of the state- 
ments given above. The party of warriors, 
which had started a few days since on the 
trail of the emigrants, was expected back in 
fourteen days, to join the village with which 
their families and the old men had remained. 
The arrival of the latter was hourly expect- 
ed ; and some Indians have just come in 
who had left them on the Laramie fork, 
about twenty miles above. Mr. Bissonette, 
one of the traders belonging to Fort Platte, 
urged the propriety of taking with me an in- 
terpreter and two or three old men of the 
village ; in which case, he thought there 
would be little or no hazard in encountering 
any of the war parties. The principal 
danger was in being attacked before they 
should know who we were» 

They had a confused idea of the numbers 
and power of our people, and dreaded to 
bring upon themselves the military force of 
the United States. This gentleman, who 
spoke the language fluently, offered his ser- 
vices to accompany me so far as the Red 
Buttes. He was desirous to join the large 
party on its return, for purposes of trade, and 
it would suit his views, as well as my own, 
to go with us to the Buttes ; beyond which 
point it would be impossible to prevail on a 
Sioux to venture, on account of their fear of 
the Crows. From Fort Laramie to the Red 
Buttes, by the ordinary road, is one hundred 
and thirty-five miles ; and, though only on 
the threshold of danger, it seemed better to 
secure the services of an interpreter for the 
partial distance, than to have none at all. 

So far as frequent interruption from the 
Indians would allow, we occupied ourselves 
in making some astronomical calculations, 
and bringing up tiie general map to this 
stage of our journey ; but the tent was gen- 
erally occupied by a succession of our cere- 
monious visitors. Some came for presents, 
and others for information of our object in 
coming to the country ; now and then, one 
would dart up to the tent on horseback, jerk 
off his trappings, and stand silently at the 
door, holding his horse by the halter, signi- 
fying his desire to trade. Occasionally a 
savage would stalk in with an invitation to 
a feast of honor, a dog feast, and deliberately 
sit down and wait quietly until I was ready 
to accompany him. I went to one ; the 
women and children were sitting outside the 
lodge, and v.'e took our seats on buffalo 
robes spread around. The dog was in a 
large pot over the fire, in the middle of the 
lodge, and immediately on our arrival was 
dished up in large v.'ooden bowls, one of 
which was handed to each. The flesh ap- 
peared very glutinous, with something oi" the 
flavor and appearance of mutton. Feeling 
something move behind me, I looked round, ' 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1842. 



and found that I had taken my seat among a 
litter of fat young puppies. Had I been 
nice in such matters, the prejudices of civi- 
lisation might have interfered with my tran- 
quillity ; but, fortunately, I am not of deli- 
cate nerves, and continued quietly to empty 
my platter. 

The weather was cloudy at evening, with 
a moderate soutli wind, and the thermometer 
at 6 o'clock 85*. I was disappointed in my 
hope of obtaining an observation of an oc- 
cultation, which took place about midnight. 
The moon brought with her heavy banks of 
clouds, through which she scarcely made 
her appearance during the night. 

The morning of tiie IBlh was cloudy and 
calm, the thefmometer at G o'clock at 64°. 
About 9, with a moderate wind from the 
west, a storm of rain came on, accompanied 
by sharp thunder and lightning, which lasted 
about an hour. During the day the expected 
village arrived, consisting principally of old 
men, women, and children. They had a 
considerable number of horses, and large 
troops of dogs. Their lodges were pitched 
near the fort, and our camp was constantly 
crowded with Indians of all sizes, from morn- 
ing until night ; at which time some of the 
soldiers gt-nerally came to drive them all off 
to the village. My tent v,-as tlie only place 
which they respected. Here only came the 
chiefs and men of distinction, and generally 
one of them remained to drive away the wo- 
men and children. The numerous strange 
instruments, applied to still stranger uses, 
excited awe and admiration among them, 
and those which I used in talking with the 
sun and stars they looked upon with especial 
reverence, as mysterious things of " great 
medicine." Of the three barometers which 
I had brought with me thus far successfully, 
I found that two were out of order, and spent 
the greater part of the I9th in repairing 
them — an operation of no small difficulty in 
the midst of the incessant interruptions to 
which I was subjected. We had the mis- 
fortune to break here a large thermometer, 
graduated to show fifths of a degree, which 
I used to ascertain the temperature of boil- 
ing water, and with which I had promised 
myself some interesting e.xperiiyients in the 
mountains. We had but one remaining, on 
which the graduation extended sufficiently 
high ; and this was too small for exact ob- 
servations. During our stay here, the men 
had been engaged in making numerous re- 
pairs, arranging pack-saddles, and otherwise 
preparing for the chances of a rough road 
and mountain travel. All things of this na- 
ture being ready, I gathered them around 
me in the evening, and told them that " I had 
determined to proceed the next day. They 
were all well armed. I had engaged the 
services of Mr. Bissonette as interpreter, and 



had taken, in the circumstances, every pos- 
sible means to insure our safety. In the ru- 
mors we had heard, I believed there was 
much exaggeration, and then they were men 
accustomed to this kind of life and to the 
country ; and that these were the dangers of 
every day occurrence^ and to be expected in 
the ordinary course of their service. They 
had heard of the unsettled condition of the 
country before leaving St. Louis, and there- 
fore could not make it a reason for breaking 
their engagements. Still, I was unwilling 
to take with me, on a service of some cer- 
tain danger, men on whom I could not rely ; 
and as I had understood that there were 
among them some who were disposed to 
cowardice, and anxious to return, they had 
but to come forward at once, and state their 
desire, and they would be discliarged with 
the amount due to them for the time they 
had served." To their honor be it said, there 
was but one among them who had the face 
to come forward and avail himself of the per- 
mission. I asked him some few .questions, 
in order to expose him to the ridicule of the 
men, and let him go. The day after our 
departure, he engaged himself to one of 
the forts, and set off with a party to the Up- 
per Missouri. I did not think that the situ- 
aiion of the country justified me in taking 
our young companions, Messrs. Brant and 
Benton, along with us. In case of misfor- 
tune, it would have been thought, at the^ 
least, an act of great imprudence ; and there- 
fore, though reluctantly, I determined to 
leave them. Randolph had been the life of 
the camp, and the '' petit garfon'' was much 
regretted by the men, to whom his buoyant 
spirits had afforded great amusement. They 
all, however, agreed in the propriety of leav- 
ing him at the fort, because, as they said, he 
might cost the lives of some of the men in a 
fight with the Indians. 

July 21. — A portion of our baggage, with 
our field notes and observations, and several 
instruments, were left at the fort. One of 
the gentlemen, Mr. Galpin, took charge of a 
barometer, which he engaged to observe 
during my absence ; and I entrusted to Ran- 
dolph, by way of occupation, the regular 
winding up of two of my chronometei"s,which 
were among the instruments left. Our ob- 
servations showed that the chronometer 
which I retained for the continuation of our 
voyage had preserved its rate in a moat sa- 
tisfactory manner. As deduced from it, the 
longitude of Fort Laramie is Ih. 01' 21", 
and from lunar distance 7/i. 01' 29" ; giving 
for the adopted longitude 104° 47' 43". 
Comparing the barometrical obscrvationa 
made during our stay here, with those of Dr. 
G. Engleman at St. Louis, we find for the ele- 
vation of tha fort above the Gulf of Mexico 
1 4,470 feet. The winter climate here is re« 



1842.] 



CAPT, FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



29 



markaWy mild for the latitude ; but rainy 
weather is frequent, and the place is cele- 
txrated for winds, of which the prevailing one 
13 west. An east wind in summer, and a 
south wind in winter, are said to be always 
accompanied with rain. 

We were ready to depart ; the tents were 
struck, the mules geared up, and our horses 
saddled, and we walked up to the fort to take 
the stirrup cup with our friends in an excel- 
lent home-brevv«d preparation. While thus 
pleasantly engaged, seated in one of the little 
cool chambers, at the door of which a man 
had been stationed to prevent all intrusion 
from the Indians, a number of chiefs, several 
of them powerful fine-looking men, forced 
their way into the room in spite of all oppo- 
sition. Handing me the following letter, 
they took their seats in silence : 

"Fort Platte, Juillel 1, 1842. 

" Mr. Fremont : Les ch'efs s'etant assem- 
bles prcsentement me disent de vous g,vertir 
de ne point vous mettre en route, avant que 
le parti de jeunes gens, qui est en dehors, 
soient de reiour. De plus, ils me disent 
qu'ils sont tres certains qu'ils feront feu a la 
premiere rencontre. lis doivent etre de re- 
toar dans sept a huit jours. Excuscz si je 
vous fais ces observations, mais il me semble 
qu'il est mon devoir de vous avertir du dan- 
ger. Meme de plus, les chefs sont les por- 
teurs de ce billet, qui vous defendent de 
partir avant le retour des guerriers. 

". Je suis votre obeissant serviteur, 
"JOSEPH BISSONETTE, 

" Par L. B. CHARTRAIN. 

" Les noms de quelquss chsfs. — Le Chapeau 
<Je Loutre, le Casseur de Fleches, la Nuit 
Noir, la Queue de Boeuf." 

[Translation.] 

"Fort Platte, July 1, 1842. 

" Mr. Fremont : The chiefs, having as- 
sembled in council, have just told me to 
warn you not to set out before the party of 
yoang men which is now out shall have re- 
turned. Furthermore, they tell me that they 
are very sure they will fire upon you as soon 
as they meet you. They are expected back 
in seven or eight days. Excuse me for 
making these observations, but it seems my 
duty to warn you of danger. Moreover, the 
chiefs who prohibit your setting out before 
the return of the warriors are the bearers of 
this note. 

" I am your obedient servant, 

"JOSEPH BISSONETTE, 

" By L. B. CHARTRAIN. 

" Names of some of the chiefs. — The Otter 
Hat, the Breaker of Arrows, the Black 
Night, the Bull's Tail." 



After reading this, I mentioned its purport 
to my companions ; and, seeing that all 
were fully possessed of its contents, one of 
the Indians rose up, and, having first shakea 
hands with me, spoke as follows : 

" You have come among us at a bad time. 
Some of our people have been killed, and our 
young men, who are gone to the mountains, 
are eager to avenge the blood of their rela- 
tions, which has been shed by the whites. 
Our young men are bad, and, if they meet 
you, they will believe that you are carrying 
goods and ammunition to their enemies, and 
will fire upon you. You have told us that 
this will make war. We know that our 
great father has many soldiers and big guns, 
and we are anxious to have our lives. We 
love the whites, and are desirous of peace. 
Thinking of all these things, we have deter- 
mined to keep you here until our warriors 
return. We are glad to see you among us. 
Our father is rich, and we expected that you 
would have brouglit presents to us — horses, 
guns, and blankets. But we are glad lo see 
you. We look upon your coming as the light 
which goes before the sun ; for you will tell 
our great father that you have seen us, and 
tliat we are naked and poor, and have no- 
thing to eat ; and he will send us all these 
things." He was followed by the others, to 
the same effect. 

The observations of the savage appeared 
reasonable ; but I was aware that they had 
in view only the present object of detaining 
me, and were unwilling I should go further 
into the country. In reply, I asked them, 
through the interpretation of Mr. Boudeau, 
to select two or three of their number to ac- 
company us until we should meet their peo* 
pie — they should spread their robes in my tent 
and eat at my table, and on our return I 
would give them presents in reward of their 
services. They declined, saying that there 
were no young men left in the village, and 
that they were too old to travel so many days 
on horseback, and preferred now to smoke 
their pipes in the lodge, and let the warriors 
go on the war path. Besides, they had no 
power over the young men, and were afraid 
to interfere with them. In my turn I address- 
ed them : " You say that you love the whites ; 
why have you killed so many already this 
spring ? You say that you love the whites, 
and are full of many expressions of friend- 
ship to us ; but you are not willing to undergo 
the fatigue of a few days' ride to save our 
lives. We do not believe what you have 
said, and will not listen to you. Whatever 
a chief among us telis his soldiers to do, is 
done. We are the soldiers of the great chief, 
your father. He has told us to come here 
and see this country, and all the Indians, his 
children. Why should we not go ? Before 
we came, we heard that you had killed hia 



30 



CAPt. FREMOxVT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1842. 



people, and ceased to be his children ; but we 
came among you peaceably, holding out our 
hands. Now we find that the stories we 
heard are not lies, and that you are no longer 
his friends and children. We have thrown 
away our bodies, and will not turn back. 
When you told us that your young men 
would kill us, you did not know that our 
hearts were strong, and you did not see the 
rifles which my young men carry in their 
hands. We are few, and you are many, and 
may kill us all ; but there will be much cry- 
ing in your villages, for many of your young 
men will stay behind, and forget to return 
with your warriors from the mountains. Do 
you think that our great chief will let his 
soldiers die, and forget to cover their graves ? 
Before the snows melt again, his warriors 
will sweep away your villages as the fire 
does the prairie in the autumn. See ! I have 
pulled down my white hmises, and my people 
are ready : when the sun is ten paces higher, 
we shall be on tlie march. If you have any- 
thing to tell us, you will say it soon." I 
broke up the conference, as I could do no- 
thing with these people ; and, being resolved 
to proceed, nothing was to be gained by de- 
lay. Accompanied by our hospitable friends, 
we returned to the camp. We had mounted 
our horses, and our parting salutations had 
been exchanged, when one of the chiefs (the 
Bull's Tail) arrived to tell me that they had 
determined to send a young man with us ; 
and if I would point out the place of our eve- 
riing camp, he should join us there. "The 
young man is poor," said he ; " he has no 
horse, and expects you to give him one." I 
described to him the place where I intended 
to encamp, and, shaking hands, in a few mi- 
nutes we were among the hills, and this last 
habitation of whites shut out from our view. 
The road led over an interesting plateau 
between the North fork of the Platte on the 
right, and Laramie river on the left. At the 
distance of ten miles from the fort, we en- 
tered the sandy bed of a creek, a kind of de- 
file, shaded by precipitous rocks, down which 
we wound our way for several hundred yards, 
to a place where, on the left bank, a very 
lar^e spring gushes with considerable noise 
and force out of the limestone rock. It is 
called " the Warm Spring," and- furnishes to 
the hitherto iry bed of the creek a conside- 
rable rivulet. On the opposite side, a little 
below the spring, is a lofty limestone escarp- 
ment, partially shaped by a grove of large 
trees, whose green foliage, in contrast with 
the whiteness of the rock, renders this a pic- 
turesque locality. The rock is fossiliferous, 
and, so far as I was able to determine the 
character. of the fossils, belongs to the car- 
boniferous limestone of the Missouri river, 
and is probably tlie western limit of that for- 



mation. Beyond this point I met with na 
fossils of any description. 

I was desirous to visit the Platte near the 
point where it leaves the Black hills, and 
therefore followed this stream, for two or 
three miles, to the mouth ; where I encamp- 
rd on a spot which afforded good grass and 
prile {equisetum) for our animals. Our tents 
having been found too thin to protect our- 
selves and the instruments from the raine, 
which in this elevated country are attended 
with cold and unpleasant weather, I had pro- 
cured from the Indians at Laramie a tolera- 
bly large lodge, about eighteen feet in diame- 
ter, and twenty feet in height. Such a 
lodge, when properly pitched, is, from its 
conical form, almost perfectly secure against 
the violent winds which are frequent in this 
region, and, with a fire in the centre, is a 
dry and warm shelter in bad weather. By 
raising the lower part, so as to permit the 
breeze to pass freely, it is converted into a 
pleasant summer residence, with the extraor- 
dinary advantage of being entirely free from 
mosquitoes, one of which I have never seen 
in an Indian lodge. While we were engaged 
very unskilfully in erecting this, the interpre- 
ter, Mr. Bissonette, arrived, accompanied by 
the Indian and his wife. She laughed at our 
awkwardness, and offered her assistance, of 
which we were frequently afterward obliged 
to avail ourselves, before the men acquired 
sufficient expcrtness to pitch it without diffi- 
culty. From this place we had a fine view 
of the gorge where the Platte issues from the 
Black hills, changing its character abruptly 
from a mountain stream into a river of the 
plains. Immediately around us the valley o4 
the stream was tolerably open ; and at the 
distance of a few miles, where the river l>ad 
cut its way through the hills, was the narrow 
cleft, on one side of which a lofty precipice 
of bright red rock rose vertically above the 
low hills which lay between us. 

July 22. — In the morning, while breakfast 
was being prepared, I visited this place witlr 
my favorite man, Basil Lajeunesse. Enter- 
ing so far as there was footing for the mule.'?,, 
we dismounted, and, tying our animals, con- 
tinued our way on foot. Like the whole 
country, the scenery of the river had under- 
gone an entire change, and was in this place 
the most beautiful I have ever seen. The 
breadth of the stream, generally near that of 
its valley, was from two to three hundred feet,^ 
with a swift current, occasionally broken by 
rapids, and the water perfectly clear. C^ 
either side rose the red precipices, verticaJ, 
and sometimes overhanging, two and four 
hundred feet in height, crowned with green 
summits, on which were scattered a few 
pines. At the foot of tiie rocks was the 
usual detritus, formed of masses fallen from 



1842.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



31 



above. Among the pines that grew here, 
and on the occasional banks, were the cherry 
{cerasus virginiana), currants, and grains de 
bcBuf (shepkerdia argentea). Viewed in the 
sunshine of a pleasant morning, the scenery 
was of a most striking and romantic beauty, 
which arose from the picturesque disposition 
of the objects, and the vivid contrast of colors. 
I thought with much pleasure of our ap- 
proaching descent in the canoe through such 
interesting places ; and, in the expectation 
of being able at that time to give to them a 
fall examination, did not now dwell so much 
as might have been desirable upon the geo- 
logical formations along the line of the river, 
where they are developed with great clear- 
ness. The upper portion of the red strata 
consists of very compact clay, in which are 
occasionally seen imbedded large pebbles. 
Below was a stratum of compact red sand- 
stone, changing a little above the river into a 
very hard siliceous limestone. There is a 
small but handsome open prairie immediately 
below this place, on the left bank of the river, 
which would be a good locality for a military 
post. There are some open groves of cotton- 
wood on the Platte. The small stream which 
comes in at this place is well timbered with 
pine, and good building rock is abundant. 

If it is in contemplation to keep open the 
communications with Oregon territory, a 
show of military force in this country is 
absolutely necessary ; and a combination of 
advantages renders the neighborhood of Fort 
I^aramie the most suitable place, on the line 
of the Platte, for the establishment of a .mili- 
tary post. It is connected with the mouth 
of the Platte and the Upper Missouri by ex- 
cellent roads, which are in frequent use, and 
would not in any way interfere with the range 
of the butFalo, on which the neighboring In- 
dians mainly depend for support. It would 
render any posts on the Lower Platte un- 
necessary ; the ordinary communication be- 
tween it and the Missouri being sufficient to 
control the intermediate Indians. It would 
operate effectually to prevent any such co- 
alitions as are now formed among the Gros 
Ventres, Sioux, Cheyennes, and other In- 
dians, and would keep the Oregon road 
through the valley of the Sweet Water and 
the South Pass of the mountains constantly 
open. It lies at the foot of a broken and 
mountainous region, along which, by the es- 
tablishment of small posts in the neighbor- 
hood of St. Vrain's fort, on the South <9rk 
of the Platte, and Bent's fort, on the Arkan- 
8iis,a line of communication would be formed, 
by goHxl wagon roads, with our southern mili- 
tary posts, which would entirely command 
the mountain passes, hold some of tlie most 
troublesome tribes in check, and protect and 
fiwiilitate our intercourse with the neighboring 
Spanish settlements. The valleys of the 



rivers on which they would be situated are 
fertile ; the country, which supports immense 
herds of buffalo, is admirably adapted to 
grazing ; and herds of cattle might be main- 
tained by the posts, or obtained from the 
Spanish country, which already supplies a 
portion of their provisions to the trading posts 
mentioned above. 

Just as we were leaving the camp this 
morning, our Indian came up, and stated his 
intention of not proceeding any further until 
he had seen the horse which I intended to 
give him. I felt strongly tempted to drive 
him. out of the camp ; but his presence ap- 
peared to give confidence to my men, and the 
interpreter thought it absolutely necessary. 
I was therefore obliged to do what he re- 
quested, and pointed out the animal, with 
which he seemed satisfied, and we continued 
our journey. I had imagined that Mr. Bis- 
sonctte's long residence had made him ac- 
quainted with the country, and, according to 
his advice, proceeded directly forward, with- 
out attempting to regain the usual road. He 
afterward informed me that he had rarely 
ever lost sight of the fort ; but the effect of 
the mistake was to involve us for a day or 
two among the hills, where, although we 
lost no time, we encountered an exceedingly 
rough road. 

To the south, along our line of march to- 
day, the main chain of the Black or Laramie 
hills rises precipitously. Time did not permit 
me to visit them ; but, from comparative in- 
formation, the ridge is composed of the coarse 
sandstone or conglomerate hereafter de- 
scribed. It appears to enter the region of 
clouds, which are arrested in their course, 
and lie in masses along the summits. An 
inverted cone of black cloud (cumulus) rest- 
ed during all the forenoon on the lofty peak 
of Laramie mountain, which I estimated to 
be about two thousand feet above the fort, or 
six thousand five hundred above the sea. We 
halted to noon on the Fourche Amere, so 
called from being timbered principally with 
the Hard amere (a species of poplar), with 
which the valley of the little stream is tole- 
rably well wooded, and which, with large 
expansive summits, grows to the height of 
sixty or seventy feet. 

The bed of the creek is sand and gravel, 
the water dispersed over the broad bed in 
several shallow streams. We found here, 
on the right bank, in the shade of the trees, 
a fine spring of very cold water. It will be 
remarked that I do not mention, in this por- 
tion of the journey, the temperature of the 
air, sand, springs, &c. — an omission which 
will be explained in the course of the nar- 
rative. In my search for plants, I was well 
rewarded at this place. 

With the change in the geological forma- 
tion on leaving Fort Laramie, the whole face 



32 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



11842. 



of the country has entirely altered its ap- 
pearance. Eastward of that meridian, the 
principal objects which strike the eye of a 
traveller are the absence of timber, and the 
immense expanse of prairie, covered with 
the verdure of rich grasses, and highly adapt- 
ed for pasturage. Wherever they are not 
disturbed by the vicinity of man, large herds 
of buf&lo give animation to this country. 
Westward of Laramie river, the region is 
sandy, and apparently sterile ; and the place 
of the grass is usurped by the artcmisia and 
other odoriferous plants, to whose growth 
the sandy soil and dry air of this elevated 
region seem highly favorable. 

One of the prominent characteristics in 
the face of the country is the extraordinary 
abundance of the arteraisias. They grow 
everywhere — on the hills, and over the river 
bottoms, in tough, twisted, wiry clumps ; and, 
wherever the beaten track was left, they ren- 
dered the progress of the carts rough and 
slow. As the country increased in elevation 
on our advance to the west, they increased 
in size ; and the whole air is strongly im- 
pregnated and saturated with the odor of 
camphor and spirits of turpentine which be- 
longs to this plant. This climate has been 
found very favorable to the restoration of 
health, particularly in cases of consumption ; 
and possibly the respiration of air so highly 
impregnated with aromatic plants may have 
some influence. 

Our dried meat had given out, and we be- 
gan to be in want of food ; but one of the 
hunters killed an antelope this evening, which 
afforded some relief, although it did not go 
far among so many hungry men. At 8 
o'clock at night, after a march of twenty- 
seven miles, we reached our proposed en- 
campment on the Fer-a-Cheval, or Horse- 
shoe creek. Here we found good grass, 
with a great quantity of prele, wiiich fur- 
nished good food for our tired animals. This 
creek is well timbered, principally with 
Hard amere, and, with the exception of Deer 
creek which we had not yet reached, is the 
largest affluent of the right bank between 
Laramie and the mouth of the Swgct Water. 

July 23. — The present year had been one 
of unparalleled drought, and througiiout the 
country the water had been almost dried up. 
By availing themselves of the annual rise, 
the traders had invariably succeeded in car- 
rying their furs to the Missouri ; but this 
season, as has already been mentioned, on 
both forks of the Platte they had entirely 
failed. The greater number of the spring;--, 
and many of the streams, which made halt- 
ing places for the voyageurs, had been dried 
•up. Everywhere the soil looked parched 
and burnt ; the scanty yellow grass crisped 
iinder the foot, and even the hardiest plauts 
were destroyed by want of moisture. I 



think it necessary to mention this fact, be- 
cause to the rapid evaporation in such an 
elevated region, nearly five thousand feet 
above the sea, almost wholly unprotected by 
timber, should be attributed much of the 
sterile appearance of the country, in the de- 
struction of vegetation, and the numerous 
saline efflorescences which covered ihe 
ground. Such 1 aftenvard found to be the 
case. 

I was informed that the roving villages of 
Indians and travellers had never met witYj 
difficulty in finding an abundance of grasa 
for their horses ; and now it was after great 
search that we were able to find a scanty 
patch of grass, sufficient to keep them from 
sinking ; and in the course of a day or two 
they began to suffer very much. We found 
none to-day at noon ; and, in the course of 
our search on the Platte, came to a grove of 
cotton-wood, where some Indian village had 
recently encamped. Boughs of the cotton- 
wood yet green covered the ground, which 
the Indians had cut down to feed their horses 
upon. It is only in the winter that recourse 
is had to tliis means of sustaining them ; 
and their resort to it at this time was a strik- 
ing evidence of the state of the country. 
We followed their example, and turned our 
horses into a grove of young poplars. This 
began to present itself as a very serious evil, 
for on our animals depended altogether the 
further prosecution of our journey. 

Shortly after we had left this place, the 
scouts came galloping in with the alarm of 
Indians. We turned in immediately toward 
the river, which here had a steep high bank, 
where we formed with the carts a very close 
barricade, resting on the river, within which 
the animals were strongly hobbled and pick- 
eted. The guns were discharged and re- 
loaded, and men thrown forward, under cover 
of the bank, in the direction by which tlie 
Indians were expected. Our interpreter, 
who, with the Indian, had gone to meet them, 
came in, in about ten minutes, accompanied 
by two Sioux. They looked sulky, and we 
could obtain from them only some confused 
information. We learned that they belonged 
to the party which had been on the trail of 
the emigrants, whom they had overtaken at 
Rock Independence, on the Sweet Water. 
Here the party had disagreed, and came 
nigh fighting among themselves. One por- 
tion were desirous of attacking the whites, 
but the others were opposed to it ; and 
finally they had broken up into small band»v 
and dispersed over the country. The greater 
portion of them had gone over into the terri- 
tory of the Crows, and intended to return by 
tlie way of the Wind river valley, in the hope of 
being able to fall upon some small parlies of 
Crow Indians. The remainder were return- 
ing down the Platte, in scattered parties of 



1842.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



33 



ten and twenty ; and those whom we had 
encountered belonged to those who had ad- 
vocated an attack on the emigrants. Seve- 
ral of the men suggested shooting them on 
the ppot; but I promptly disco\uitenanced 
any such proceeding. They further inlorm- 
ed me that buflalo were very Ecarce, and 
little or no grass to be found. There had 
been no rain, and innumerable quantities of 
grasshoppers had destroyed the grass. The 
insects had been so numerous since leaving 
Fort Laramie, that the ground seemed alive 
with them ; and in walking, a little moving 
cloud preceded our footsteps. This was bad 
news. No grass, no buffivlo — food for nei- 
ther horse nor man. I gave them some 
plugs of tobacco, and they went off, appa- 
rently well satisfied to be clear of us ; for 
my men did not look upon them very loving- 
ly, and they glanced suspiciously at our war- 
like preparations, and the little ring of rifles 
which surrounded them. They were evi- 
dently in a bad humor, and shot one of their 
horses when they had left us a short dis- 
tance. 

We continued our march, and, after a 
journey of about twenty -one miles, encamped 
on the Platte. During the day, I had occa- 
sionally remarked among the hills the psora- 
lea esculenla, the bread root of the Indians. 
The iSioux use this root very extensively, and 
I have frequently met with it among them, 
cut into thin slices and dried. In the 
course of the evening we were visited by six 
Indians, who told us that a large party was 
encamped a few miles above. Astronomi- 
cal observations placed us in longitude 104° 
69' 69", and latitude 42° 39' 25". 

We made the next day twenty-two miles, 
and encamped on the right bank of the 
Platte, where a handsome meadow aflbrded 
tolerably good grass. There were the re- 
mains of an old fort here, thrown up in some 
Buddcn emergency, and on the opposite side 
was a picturesque bluff of ferruginous sand- 
stone. There was a handsome grove a lit- 
tle above, and scattered groups of trees bor- 
dered the river. Buffalo made their appear- 
ance this afternoon, and the hunters came in, 
shortly alter we had encamped, with three 
fine cows. The night was tine, and obser- 
vations gave for the latitude of the camp, 
42° 47' 40". 

July 25. — We made but thirteen miles 
this day, and encamped about noon in a 
pleasant grove on the right bank. Low 
scaffolds were erected, upon which the meat 
was laid, cut up into thin strips, and small 
fires kindled below. Our object was to profit 
by the vicinity of the buffalo, to lay in a 
Btock of provisions for ten or fifteen days. 
In the course of the afternoon the hunters 
brought in five or six cows, and all hands 
were kept busily employed in preparing the 

3 



meat, to the drying of which the guard at- 
tended during the night. Our people had 
recovered their gaiety, and the busy figures 
around the blazing fires gave a picturesque 
air to the camp. A very serious accident 
occurred this morning, in the breaking of 
one of the barometers. These had been the 
object of my constant solicitude, and, as I 
had intended them principally for mountain 
.service, I had used them as seldom as pos- 
sible ; taking them always down at night, 
and on the occurrence of storms, in order to 
lessen the chances of being broken. I was 
reduced to one, a standard barometer of 
Troughton's construction. This I determin- 
ed to preserve, if possible. The latitude is 
42° 61' 35", and by a mean of the results 
from chronometer and lunar distances, the 
adopted longitude of this camp is 106° 60' 
45". 

July 26. — Early this morning we were 
again in motion. We had a stock of pro- 
visions for fifteen days carefully stored away 
in the carts, and this I resolved should only 
be encroached upon when our rifles should 
fail to procure us present support. I de- 
termined to reach the mountains, if it were 
in any way possible. In the meantime, buf- 
falo were plenty. In six miles from our 
encampment (which, by way of distinction, 
we shall call Dried Meat camp), we crossed 
a handsome stream, called La Fuurche 
Bohce. It is well timbered, and, among the 
flowers in bloom on its banks, I remarked 
several asters. 

Five miles further, we made our noon halt 
on the banks of the Platte, in the shade of 
some cotton-woods. There were here, as 
generally now along the river, thickets of 
hippophaa:, the grains de bceuf of the coun- 
try. Chey were of two kinds — one bearing 
a red berry (the shepherdia argenlia of 
Nuttall) ; the other a yellow berry, of 
which the Tartars are said to make a kind 
of rob. 

By a meridian observation, the latitude of 
the place was 42° 50' 08". It was my daily 
practice to take observations of the sun's 
meridian altitude ; and why they are not 
given, will appear 'in the sequel. Eight 
miles further we reached the mouth of Deer 
creek, where we encamped. Here was an 
abundance of rich grass, and our animals 
were compensated for past privations. This 
stream was at this time twenty feet broad, 
and well timbered with cotton-wood of an 
uncommon size. It is the largest tributary 
of the Platte, between the mouth of the 
Sweet Water and the Laramie. Our astro- 
nomical observations gave for the mouth of 
the stream a longitude of 106° 08' 24", and 
latitude 4^;° 62' 24". 

July 27. — Nothing worthy of mention oc- 
cun-edf on this day ; we travelled later than 



34 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



laaual, having spent some time in searching 
for grass, croesing and re-crossing the river 
before we could hnd a sufficient quantity for 
our animals. Toward dusk, we encainpecj 
among some artemisia bushes, two and three 
feet in height, where some scattered patches 
of short tough grass ailbrded a scanty sup- 
ply. In crossing, we had occasion to ob- 
serve that the river was frequently lop deep 
to be forded, tliough we always succeeded 
in finding a place where the water did not 
enter the carts. The stream continued very 
clear, with two or three hundred feet breadth 
of water, and the sandy bed and banks were 
frequently covered with large round pebbles. 
We bad travelled this day twenty-seven 
miles. The main chain of the Black hills 
was here only about seven miles to the 
south, on tlie right bank of the river, rising 
abruptly to the height of eight and twelve 
hundred feet. Patches of green grass in 
the ravmes on the bleep sides marked the 
presence of springs, arid the summits were 
clad with pine«. 

July 28. — In two miles from our encamp- 
ment, we reached tlie place where the regu- 
lar road crosses the Platte. There was two 
hundred feet breadth of water at this time in 
the bed, which has a variable width of eight 
to fifteen hundred feet. The channels were 
generally three feet deep, and there were 
large angular rocks on the bottom, which 
made the ford in some places a little dilTi- 
cult. Even at its low stages, this river 
cannot be crossed at random, and this has 
always been used as the best ford. The 
low stage of tlie waters the present year 
had made it fordable in almost any part of 
its course, where access could be had to its 
bed. 

Vox the satisfaction of travellers, I> will 
endeavor to give some description of the na- 
ture of the road from Laramie to this point. 
The nature of the soil may be inferred from 
its geological formation. The limestone at 
the eastern limit of this section is succeeded 
by limestone witliout fos.siis, a great variety 
of sandstone, consisting principally of rod 
sandstone and fine conglomerates. The red 
sandstone is argillaceous, with compact 
white gypsum or alabaster, very beautiful. 
The other sandstones are grey, yellow, and 
ferruginous, sometimes very coarse. Tbe 
apparent sterility of the country must lliere- 
fore be sought for in other causes than the 
nature of the soil. The face of the country 
cannot with propriety be called hilly. It is 
a succession of long ridges, made by the nu- 
merous streams which come down from the 
neighboring mountain range. The ridges 
have an undulating surface, with some such 
appearance as the ocean presents in an ordi- 
nary breeze. 
The road which is now generally followed 



through this region is therefore a very good 
one, without any difficult ascents to owr- 
come. The principal obstructions are near 
the river, where the transient waters of 
heavy rains have made deep ravines with 
steep banks, which renders frequent circuits 
necessary. It will be remembered that wa- 
gons pass this road only once or twice a 
year, which is by no means sufficient to 
break down tlie stubborn roots of the innxi- 
merable artemisia bushes. A partial ab- 
sence of these is often the only indication of 
the track ; and the roughness produced by 
their roots in many places gives the road the 
cliaracter of one newly opened in a wooded 
country. This is usually considered the 
worst part of the road east oi the mountains ; 
and, as it passes through an open prairie 
region, may be much improved, bo as to 
avoid tiie greater part of tbe inequalities it 
now presents. 

From the mouth of the Kansas to the 
Green river valley, west of the Rocky moun- 
tains, there is no such thing as a mountain 
road on the line of communication. 

We continued our way, and four miles 
beyond tlie ford Indians were discovered 
again ; and I halted while a party were sent 
forward to ascertain who tliey were. In a 
short time they returned, accompanied by a 
number of Indians of the Oglallah band oi 
Sioux. From them we received some inter- 
esting information. They had formed part 
of tlie great village, which they informed us 
had broken up, and was on its way home. 
The greater part of the village, including the 
Arapahoes, Cheyennes, and Oglallahs, had 
crossed the Platte eight or ten miles below 
the mouth of the Sweet Water, and were 
now behind the mountains to the south of 
us, intending to regain the Platte by way of 
Deer creek. They iiad taken this unusual 
route in search of grass and game. They 
gave us a very discouraging picture of the 
country. The great drought, and the plague 
of grasshoppers, had swcjit it so that scarce 
a blade of grass was to be seen, and there 
was not a buffiilo to be found in the whole 
region. Their people, they further said, had 
been nearly starved to death, and we would 
find their road inurkeil by Imlgcs which they 
had thrown away in order to move more ra- 
pidly, and by the carcasses of the horses 
which they had eaten, or which had perished 
by starvation. Such was tlie prosjiect bo- 
fore us. 

When he had finished the interpretation 
of these things, Mr. Bissonette immediately 
rode up to me, and urgently advised that I 
should entirely abandon the further prosecu- 
tion of my exploration. " Lc Tndiletire avis 
que je ■poiirrais vous donner cest de virer de 
sujie." " The best advice I can give you, 
is to turn back at onc-e." It was his own 



1842.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



35 



intention to return, as we had now reached 
the point to which he had engaged to attend 
me. In reply, I called up my men, and com- 
niiinieated to them fully the information I 
had ji'.st received. I then expressed to them 
my fixed determination to proceed to the end 
of tlie enterprise on which I had been sent ; 
but U3 the situation of the country gave me 
some reason to apprehend that it might be 
attended with an unfortunate result to som.e 
of us, I wmM leave it optional with them to 
continue with me or to return. 

Among them were som.e five or six who I 
hnew would remain. We had still ten days' 
provisions ; and, should no game be found, 
when this stock was expended, we had our 
■horses and mules, which we could eat when 
other means of subsistence failed. But not 
a man flinched from the undertaking. 
*' We'll eat the mules," said Basil Lajeunes- 
86 ; and thereupon we shook hands with our 
interpreter and his Indians, and parted. 
With them I sent back one of my men, 
Dnm^s, whom the effects of an old wound 
in the leg rendered incapable of continuing 
the journey on foot, and his horse seemed on 
the point of giving out. Having resolved to 
■disencumber ourselves immediately of every- 
thing not absolutely necessary to our future 
t)i)erations, I turned directly in toward the 
river, and encamped on the left bank, a little 
above the place where our council had been 
held, and where a thick grove of willows 
ofiered a suitable spot for the object I had in 
view. 

'I'he carts having been discharged, the 
covers and wheels were taken off, and, with 
the frames, carried into some low places 
among the willows, and concealed in the 
dense foliage in such a manner that the glit- 
ter of the iron work might not attract the ob- 
servation of some straggling Indian. In the 
sand, which had been blown up into waves 
among the willows, a large hole was then 
•dug, ten feet square, and six deep. In the 
meantime, all our effects had been spread 
out upon the ground, and whatever was de- 
signed to be carried along with us separated 
and laid aside, and the remaining part car- 
Tied to the hole and carefully covered up. 
As much as possible, all traces of our pro- 
ceedings were obliterated, and it wanted but 
a rain to render our cache safe beyond dis- 
covery. All the men were now set at work 
to arrange the pack-saddles and make up the 
packs. 

The day was very warm and calm, and 
the sky entirely clear, except where, as 
usual along the summits of die mountainous 
ridge opposite, the clouds h-ad congregated 
in masses. Our lodge had been planted, 
and, on account of the heat, the ground pins 
had been taken out, and the lower part 
slightly raised. Near to it was standing the 



barometer, which swung in a tripod frame ; 
and within the lodge, where a small fire had 
l>een built, Mr. Preuss was occupied in ob- 
serving the temperature of boiling water. 
At this instant, and without any warning 
until it was within fifty yards, a violent gust 
of wind dashed down the lodge, burying un- 
der it Mr. Preuss and about a dozen men, 
who had attempted to keep it from being 
carried away. I succeeded in saving tho 
barometer, which the lodge was carrying off 
with itself, but the thermometer was broken. 
We had no others of a high graduation, none 
of those which remained going higher than 
135° Fahrenheit. Our astronomical obser- 
vations gave to this place, which we named 
Cache, camp, a longitude of 106° 38' 26", 
latitude 42° 50' 63''. 

July 29. — All our arrangements having 
been completed, we left the encampment at 
7 o'clock this morning. In this vicinity the 
ordinary road leaves the Platte, and crosses 
over to the Sweet Water river, which it 
strikes near Rock Independence. Instead 
of following this road, I had determined to 
keep the immediate valley of the Platte so 
far as the mouth of the Sweet Water, in the 
expectation of finding better grass. To this 
I was further prompted by the nature of my 
instructions. To Mr. Carson was assigned 
the office of guide, as we had now reached 
a part of the country with which, or a great 
part of which, long residence had made him 
familiar. In a few miles we reached the 
Red Buttes, a famous landmark in this coun- 
try, whose geological composition is red 
sandstone, limestone, and calcareous sand- 
stone and pudding stone. 

The river here cuts its way through a 
ridge ; on the eastern side of it are the lofty 
escarpments of red argillaceous sandstone, 
which are called the Red Buttes. In this 
passage the stream is not much compressed 
or pent up, there being a bank of consider- 
able though variable breadth on either side. 
Immediately on entering, we discovered a 
band of buffalo. The hunters failed to kill 
any of them ; the leading hunter being 
thrown into a ravine, which occasioned some 
del-ay, and in the meantime tlie herd clam- 
bered up the steep face of the ridge. It is 
sometimes wonderful to see these apparently 
clumsy animals make their way up and 
down the most rugged and broken preci- 
pices. We halted to noon before we had 
cleared this passage, at a spot twelve milea 
distant from Cticke camp, where we found 
an abundance of grass. So far, the account 
of the Indians was found to be false. On 
the banks were willow and cherry tfeee. 
The cherries were not yet ripe, but in the 
thickets were numerous fresh tracks of the 
grizzly bear, which are very fond of this 
fruit. The soil here ia red, tli© composition 



3$ 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



i;i842. 



being derived from the red sandstone. 
About seven miles brought us through the 
ridge, in which the course of the river is 
north and south. Here the valley opens out 
broadly, and high walls of the red formation 
present themselves among the hills to the 
east. We crossed here a pretty little creek, 
an affluent of the right bank. It is well 
timbered with cotton-wood in this vicinity, 
and the absintlie has lost its shrub-like char- 
acter, and becomes small trees six and eight 
feet in height, and sometimes eight inches 
in diameter. Two or three miles ab«ve this 
creek we made our encampment, having 
travelled to-day twenty-five miles. Our ani- 
mals fared well here, as there is an abun- 
dance of grass. The river bed is made up 
of pebbles, and in the bank, at the level of 
the water, is a conglomerate of coarse peb- 
bles about the size of ostrich eggs, and 
which I remarked in the banks of tlie Lara- 
mie fork. It is overlaid by a soil of mixed 
■clay and sand, six feet thick. By astrono- 
mical observations, our position is in longi- 
tude 106° 54' 32", and latitude 42° 38', 

July 30. — After travelling about twelve 
miles this morning, we reached a place where 
the Indian village had crossed the river. 
Here were the poles of discarded lodges and 
skeletons of horses lying about. 11 r. Car- 
son, who had never been higher up than this 
point on the river, which has the character 
of being exceedingly rugged, and walled in 
by precipices above, thought it advisable to 
camp near this place, where we were certain 
of obtaining grass, and to-morrow make our 
crossing among the rugged hills to the Sweet 
Water river. Accordingly we turned back 
and descended the river to an island near by, 
which was about twenty acres in size, cover- 
ed with a luxuriant growth of grass. The 
formation here I found highly interesting. 
Immediately at this island the river is again 
shut up in the rugged hills, which come 
down to it from the main ridge in a succes- 
sion of spurs three or four hundred feet high, 
and alternated with green level prairillons or 
meadows, bordered on the river banks with 
thickets of willow, and having many plaiiis 
to interest the traveller. I'he island lies be- 
tween two of these ridges, three or four 
hundred yards apart, of which that on the 
right bank is composed entirely of red argil- 
laceous sandstone, with thin layers of fibrous 
gypsum. On the left bank, the ridge is com- 
posed entirely of siliceous pudding stone, the 
pebbles in the numerous strata increasing in 
size from the top to the bottom, where they 
are as large as a man's head. So far as I 
was able to determine, these strata incline to 
the northeast, with a dip of about 15"^. This 
pudding stone, or conglomerate formation, I 
was enabled to trace through an extended 
xange of country, from a few milea oast of 



the meridian of Fort Laramie to where I 
found it superposed on the granite of the 
Rocky mountains, in longitude 109° 00'. 
From its appearance, tlie main chain of the 
Laramie mountain is composed of this rock; 
and in a number of places I found isolated 
hills, which served to mark a former level, 
which had been probably swept away. 

These conglomerates are very friable, and 
easily decomposed ; and I am inclined ta 
think this formation is the source from which 
was derived the groat deposite of sand ai>d 
gravel which forms the surface rock of the 
prairie country west of the Mississippi. 

Crossing the ridge of red sandstone, and 
traversing the little prairie which lies to tlie 
southward of it, we made in the afternoon an 
excursion to a place which we have called 
the Hot Spring Gate. This place has much 
the appearance of a gate, by which the 
Platte passes through a ridge composed of a 
white and calcareous sandstone. The length 
of the passage is about four hundred yards, 
with a smooth green prairie on either side. 
Through this place, the stream flows with a 
quiet current, unbroken by any rapid, and ia 
about seventy yards wide between the walls, 
which rise perpendicularly from, the water. 
To that on the right bank, which is the 
lower, the barometer gave a height of three 
hundred and sixty feet. This place will be 
more particularly described hereafter, as we 
passed through it on our return. 

We saw here numerous herds of mountain 
sheep, and frequently heard the volley of 
rattling stones which accompanied their rapid 
'descent down the steep hills. This was the 
first place at which we had killed any of 
these animals ; and, in consequence of this 
circumstance, and of the abundance of these 
sjieep or goats (for they are called by each 
name), v, e gave to our encampment the name 
of Goat Island. Their flesh is much es- 
teemed by the hunters, and has very much 
the flavor of the Allegany mountain sheep^ 
I have frequently seen the horns of this ani- 
mal three feet long and seventeen inches ia 
circumference at the base, weighing eleven 
pounds. But two or three of these were 
killed by our party at this place, and of theae 
the horns were tmall. Tiie use of these 
horns seems to be to protect the animal'a 
head in pitching down precipices to avoid 
pursuing wolves — their only safety being in 
places where they cannot be followed. The 
bones are very strong and solid, the marrow 
occupying but a very small [>ortion of tlie 
bone in the leg, about the thickness of a ry© 
straw. The hair is shcrt, resembling the 
winter color of our common deer, which it 
nearly approaches in size and appearance. 
Except in the liorns, it has no resemblance 
whatever to the goat. The longitude of Uiis 
place, resulting from chronometer and lunar 



1842;] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



37 



distances, and an occultation of Arietis, is 
107° 13' 29", and the latitude 42° 33' 27". 
One of our horses, which had given out, we 
left to receive strength on the island, intend- 
ing to take her, perhaps, on our return. 

July 3!. — This morning we left the course 
of the Platte, to cross over to the Sweet Wa- 
ter. Our way, for a few miles, lay up the 
eandy bed of a dry creek, in which I found 
several intereating plants. Leaving this, we 
wound our way to the summit of the hills, 
of which the peaks are here eight hundred 
feet above the Platte, bare and rocky. A 
long and gradual slope led from tiiese hills 
to the Sweet Water, whicii we reached in 
fifteen miles from Goat Island. I made an 
early encampment here, in order to give the 
hunters an opportunity to procure a supply 
from several bands of buffalo, which made 
their appearance in the valley near by. The 
stream here is about sixty feet wide, and at 
this time twelve to eighteen inches deep, 
with a very moderate current. 

The adjoining prairies are sandy, but the 
immediate river bottom is a good soil, which 
afforded an abundance of soft green grass to 
our horses, and where I found a variety of 
interesting plants, which made their appear- 
ance for the first time. A rain to-night 
made it unpleasantly cold ; and there v>7as no 
tree here, to enable us to pitch our single 
tent, the poles of which had been left at 
Cache camp. We had, therefore, no shelter 
except what was to be found under cover of 
the absinlhe bushes, which grew in many 
thick patches, one or two and sometimes 
tliree feet high. 

August 1. — The hunters went ahead this 
morning, as buffalo appeared tolerably abun- 
dant, and I was desirous to secure a small 
stock of provisions ; and we moved about 
seven miles up the valley, and encamped one 
mile below Rock Independence. This is an 
isolated granite rock, about six hundred and 
fifty yards long, and forty in height. Except 
in a depression of the summit, where a little 
soil supports a scanty growthof shrubs, with 
a solitary dwarf pine, it is entirely bare. 
Everywhere within six or eight feet of the 
groimd, where the surface is sufficiently 
smooth, and in some places sixty or eighty 
feet above, the reck is inscribed with the 
names of travellers. Many a name famous 
in the history of this country, and some well 
known to science, are to be found mixed 
among those of the traders and of travellers 
for pleasure and curiosity, and of missiona- 
ries among the savages. Some of these 
have been washed away by the rain, but the 
greater number are still very legible. The 

Ksition of this rock is in longitude 107° 56', 
;itude 42° 29' 36". We remained at our 
camp of August 1st until noon of the next 
day, occupied in drying meat. By observa- 



tion, the longitude of the place is 107° 2&' 
23", latitude 42° 29' 56". 

August 2. — Five miles above Rock Inde- 
pendence we came to a place called the 
Devil's Gate, where the Sweet Water cuts 
through the point of a granite ridge. The 
length of the passage is about three hundred- 
yards, and the width thirty-five yards. The 
walls of rock are vertical, and about four 
hundred feet in height ; and the stream in 
the gate is almost entirely choked up by 
masses which have fallen from above. In the 
wall, on the right bank, is adikeoftrap i-ock, 
cutting through a fine-grained grey granite. 
Near the point of this ridge crop out some 
strata- of the valley formation.'consisting of a 
greyish micaceous sandstone,and fine-grained 
conglomerate, and marl. We encamped eight 
miles above the Devil's Gate. There was 
no timber of any kind on the river, but good 
fires were made of drift wood, aided by the 
hois de vache. 

We had to-night no shelter from the rain, 
which commenced with squalls of wind about 
sunset. The country here is exceedingly 
picturesque. On either side of the valley, 
which is four or. five miles broad, the moun- 
tains rise to the height of twelve and fifteea 
hundred or two thousand feet. On the south 
side, the range appears to be timbered, and 
to-night is luminous with fires — probably tlic 
work of the Indians, who have just passed 
through the valley. On the north, broken 
and granite masses rise abruptly from the 
green sward of the river, terminating in a 
line of broken summits. Except in the cre- 
vices of the rock, and here and there on a 
ledge or bench of the mountain, where a few 
hardy pines have clustered together, these 
are perfectly bare and destitute of vegetation. 

Among thiese masses, where there are 
sometimes isolated hills and ridges, green 
valleys open in upon the river, which sweeps 
the base of these mountains for thirty-six 
miles. Everywhere its deep verdure and 
profusion of beautiful flowers is in pleasing 
contrast with the sterile grandeur of the rock 
and the barrenness of the sandy plain, which, 
from the right bank of the river, sweeps up 
to the mountain range that forms its south- 
ern boundary. The great evaporation on the 
sandy soil of this elevated plain, and the sa- 
line ctEorescences which whiten the ground, 
and shine like lakes reflecting the sun, make 
a soil wholly unht for cultivation. 

August 3. — We were early on the road 
the next morning, traveling along the up- 
land part of the valley, v^hich is overgrown 
with artemisia. Scattered about on the 
plain are occasional small isolated hills. 
One of these which I have examined, about 
fifty feet high, consisted of white clay and 
marl, in nearly horizontal strata. Several 
bands of buffaJo made their appearance to» 



38 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1842. 



day, with herds of antelope ; anil a grizzly 
bear — the only our we encoiintei'cd during 
the journey — was seen scrambling up among 
the rocks. As we p-.if»seJ'over h slight rise 
near the river, we caught the tirc-t view of 
the Wind river mouii'vtins, appearing, at this 
distance oi' about seventy milcs,^ to be a low 
and dark mountainous ridge^ The view dis- 
sipated in a moment the pictures which had 
been created in our minds, by many descrip- 
tions of travellers, who have; compared thest' 
mountains to the Alps in Switzerland, and 
speak ot the glittering peaks which rise in 
icy majesty amidst the eternal glaciers nine 
or ten thousand feet into the region of eter- 
nal snows. The nakedness of the river was 
relieved by groves of willows, where v;e en- 
camped at night, after a march of twenty-si-i; 
miles; and numerous bright-colored flowers 
had made the river bottom look gay as a gar- 
den. We found here a horse, v/hich had 
been abandoned by the Indians, because his 
hoois had been so mucli worn that he Vv'as 
imable to travel ; and during the night a dog 
came into the camp. 

August 4. — Our camp was at the foot of 
the granite mountains, which we climbed 
this morning to take some barometrical 
heights •, and here among the rocks was seen 
the first magpie. On our return, we saw 
one at the mouth of the Platte river. We 
left here one of our horses, which was una- 
ble to proceed farther. A few miles from 
the encampment we left the river, which 
makes a bend to the south, and traversing 
an undulating country, consisting of a grey- 
ish micaceous sandstone and tine-grained 
conglomerates, struck It again, and encamp- 
ed, alter a journey of twenty-live miles. As- 
tronomical observations placed ;js in latitude 
42° 32' 30'^ and longitude 108° 30' 13" 

August 6. — The morning was dark, with 
a driving rain, and disagreeably cold. Wo 
continued our route as usual ; but the wea- 
ther became so bad, that we were glad to 
avail ourselves of the shelter oQered by a 
small island, about ten miles above our last 
encampment, which was covered with a 
dense growth of willows. There was fine 
grass tor our animals, and the timber afforded 
us comfortable protection and good tires. In 
the afternoon, the sun broke through the 
clouds for a short time, and the barometer at 
6, p. m., was at 23.713, the thermometer 60°, 
with the wind strong from the northwest. 
We availed ourselves of the fine weather to 
make excursions in tlie neighborhood. The 
river, at this place, is bordered by hills of the 
valley formation. They are of moderate 
licight ; one of the highest peaks on the right 
baijt being, according to the barometer, one 
hundred and eighty feet alhjve the river. On 
Uie left bank tiiey are higher. They consist 
of a fine 'While clayey eandstone, a wiiile 



calcareous sandstone, and coarse sandstone 
or pudding stone. 

August 6. — It continued steadily raining 
all the day ; but, notwithstanding, v/e left our 
encampment in the afternoon. Our animate 
had been much refreshed by their repose, 
and an abundance of rich, soft grass, which 
had been much improved by the raiue. In 
about tiirce miles, we reached the enlranre 
of a kanydrt) where the Sweet VVater issuca 
upon the, more Open valley we had paBsed 
over. Immediately at the entrance, and su- 
perimposed directly upon the granite, are 
strata of compact calcai'eous feandstone and 
chert, alternating with fine while and reddisli 
white, and fine grey and red sandstones. 
These strata dip to the eastwai-d at an ang4<j 
of about ISo, and form the western limit of 
the sandstone and. limestone formations Ofi 
the line of our route. Here we entered 
among the primitive rocks. The usual road 
passes to the right of this place ; but we 
wound, or rather scrambled, our^way up U»e 
narrow valley for several hours. Wildness 
and disorder were the character of this 
scenery. The river had been swollen by tho 
late rains, and came rushing through with 
an impetuous current, three or four feet deep, 
and generally twenty yards broad. .Tlie val- 
ley was sometimes the breadth of the stream, 
and sometimes opened into little green mea- 
dows, sixty yards wide, with open groves of 
aspen. I'he stream was bordered through- 
out with aspen, beech, and willov/ ; and tall 
pines grew on the sides and summits of th« 
crags. On both sides, the granite ix)cks rose 
precipitously to the height of three hundred 
and five hundred feet, terminating in jagged 
and broken pointed peaks; and fragments of 
iallen rock lay piled up at the foot of the pre- 
cipices. Gneiss, mica elate, and a v/hito 
granite, were among the varieties I noticed. 
Here were many olci traces of beaver on the 
stream ; remnants of dams, near which were 
lying trees, which they had cut down, one 
and two feet in diameter. The hills entirely 
shut up the river at the end of about five 
miles, and we turned up a ravine that led to 
a high prairie, which seemed to be the gene- 
ral level of ihe country. Hence, to the sum- 
mit of the ridge, there is a regular and very 
gradual rise. Blocks of granite were piled up 
at the heads of the ravines, and small bare 
knolls of mica slate and milky quartz pro- 
truded at frequent intervals on the prairie, 
which was whitened in occasional spots with 
small salt lakes, where the water luid evapo- 
nited, and left the bed covered with -a shin- 
ing incrustation of salt. The evening was 
very cold, a northwest v.'ind driving a tino 
rain in our faces ; and at uightiall we c'e- 
scenJed to a little stream, on which wo en- 
camped, about two miles from the Sweet 
Water. Here, had recently been a very 



1842.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



39 



krge camp of Snake and Crow Indians ; and 
some large poles lying about afforded the 
means of pitching a tent, and making other 
places of shelter. Our fires to-night were 
made principally of the dry branches of the 
artemisia, which covered the slopes. It 
burns quickly, with a clear oily flame, and 
makes a hot tire. The hills here are com- 
posed of hard, compact micaslate, with veins 
of quartz. 

August 7. — We left our encampment with 
the rising sun. As we rose from the bed of 
the creek, the sjigw line of the mountains 
stretched grandly before us, the white peaks 
glittering in the sun. They had been hid- 
^n in the dark weather of the last few days, 
and it had been snowing on them, while it 
rained in the plains. We crossed a ridge, 
and again struck the Sweet Water — here a 
beautiful, swift stream, with a more open 
valley, timbered with beech and cotton wood. 
it now began to lose itself in the many small 
forks which make itn head ; and we conti- 
uiied up the main stream until near noon, 
when we left it a few miles, to make our 
noon halt on a small creek among the hills, 
from which the stream issues by a small 
opening. Within was a beautiful grassy 
spot, covered witli an open grove of large 
bisech trees, among which I found several 
plants that I had not previously seen. 

The afternoon was cloudy, with srwialls of 
rain ; but the weather became fine at sun- 
set, when we again encamped on the Sweet 
Water, within a few miles of the South 
Pass. The countiy over which we have 
passed to-day consists principally of the 
compact mica slate, which crops out on all 
ridges, making the uplands very rocky and 
slaty. In the escarpments which border the 
creeks, it is seen alternating with a light- 
colored granite, at an inclination of 45°; 
the beds varying in thickness from two or 
three feet to six or eight hundred. At a dia- 
teince, the pranite frequently has the appear- 
ance of iffegular lumps of clay, hardened 
by exposure. A variety of asters may now 
be numbered among the characteristic 
plants, and the artemisia continues in full 
glory, but cacti have become rare, and 
mosses begin to dispute the hills with them. 
The evening was damp and unpleasant ; the 
thermometer, at 10 o'clock, being at 36°, 
and the grass wet with a heavy dew. Our 
astronomical observations placed this en- 
campment in longitude 109'^ 21 ' 31", and 
latitude 42^ 27' 15", 

Early in the morning we resumed our 
journey, the weather still cloudy, with occa- 
sional rain. Our general course was west, 
as I had determined to cross the dividing 
ridge by a bridle path among the broken 
country more immediately at the foot of the 
mountains, and return by the wagon road. 



two and a half miles to the south of the point 
where the trail crosses. 

Alwut six miles from our encampment 
brought us to the summit. The ascent had 
been so gradual, that, with all the intimate 
knowledge possessed by Carson, who had 
made this country his home for seventeen 
years, we were obliged to watch very close- 
ly to find the place at which we had reached 
the culminating point. This was between 
two low hills, rising on either hand fifty or 
sixty feet. When I looked back at them, 
from the foot of the immediate slope on the 
western plain, their summits appeared to be? 
about one hundred and twenty feet above. 
From the impression on my mind at this 
time, and subsequently on our retura, I 
should compare the elevation which we sur- 
mounted immediately at tlie Pass, to the as- 
cent of the Capitol hill from the avenue, at 
Washington. It is dilTicult for me to fix 
positively the breadth of this pass. From 
the broken ground where it commences, at 
the foot of the Wind river chain, the view 
to the southeast is over a champaign coun- 
try, broken, at the distance of nineteen miles, 
by the Table rock ; which, with the other 
isolated hills in its vicinity, seems to stand 
on a comparative plain. This I judged to be 
its termination, the ridge recovering its rug- 
ged character with the Table rock. It will 
be seen that it in no manner resembles the 
places to which the term is commonly, ap- 
plied — nothing of the gorge-like character 
and winding ascents of the Alleghany pass- 
es in America; nothing of the Great St. 
Bernard and Simplon passes in Europe. 
Approaching it from the mouth of the Sweet 
Water, a sandy plain, one hundred and 
twenty miles long, conducts, by a gradual 
and regular ascent, lo the summit, about 
seven thousand feet abos'e the sea ; and the 
traveller, without being reminded of any 
change by toilsome ascents, suddenly finds 
himself on the waters which flow to the Pa- 
cilic ocean. By the route we had travelled, 
the distance from Fort Laramie is three hun- 
dred and twenty miles, or nine hundred and 
fifty from the mouth of the Kansas. 

Continuing ou'r march, we reached, in 
eight miles from the Pass, the Little Sandy, 
one of the tributaries of the Colorado, or 
Green river of the Gulf of California. The 
weather had grown fine during the morning, 
and we remained here the rest of the day, 
to dry our baggage and take some astrono- 
mical observations. The stream was about 
forty feet wide, and tv/o or three deep, with 
clear water and a full ewift current, over a 
sandy bed. It was timbered with a grov/th 
of low bushy and dense willows, among 
which were little verdant spots, which gave 
our animals fine grass, and where I found a 
mxmber of interesting plants. Among the 



40 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1842. 



neighborinnr hills I noticed fragments of 
granite containing magnetic iron. Longi- 
rtiide of tlio camp was 109^ 37' 69', and lati- 
tiidtf 42° 21- 34". 

August 9. — We made our noon halt to- 
day on Big Sandy, another tributary of Green 
river. Tiie face of the country traversed 
was of a brown eand of granite materials, 
the dstriJus of the neighboring mountains. 
Strata of the milky quartz cropped out, and 
blocks of granite were scattered abofit, con- 
taining magnetic iron. On Sandy creek the 
formation was of parti-coiored sand, exhibit- 
ed in escarpments fifty to eighty feet high. 
In tiie afternoon we had a severe storm of 
hail, and encamped at sunset on the first 
New Fork. Within the space of a few mile.«, 
the Wind mountains supply a number of tri- 
butaries to Green river, which are called the 
New Forks. Near our camp were two re- 
markable isolated hills, one of them suffi- 
ciently large to merit the name of mountain. 
They are called the Two Buttes, and will 
serve to identify the place of our encamp- 
ment, which the observations of the evening 
placed in longitude 109"^ 68' 11", and lati- 
tude 42° 42' 46". On the right bank of the 
stream, opposite to the large hill, the strata 
which are displayed consist of decomposing 
granite, which supplies the brown sand of 
which the face of the country is composed 
to a considerable depth. 

A^ust 10. — The air at sunrise is clear 
and pure, and the morning extremely cold, 
but beautiful. A lofty snow peak of the 
mountain is glittering in the first rays of the 
sun, which has not yet reached us. The 
long moimtain wall tr> the east, rising two 
thousand feet abruptly from the plain, behind 
which we see the peaks, is stiil dark, and 
cuts clear against the glowing sky. A fog, 
just risen from the river, lies along the base 
of the mountain. A little before sunrise, the 
thermometer was at 35°, and at sunrise 33°. 
Water froze last night, and fires are very 
comfortable. The scenery becomes hourly 
more interesting and grand, and the view 
here is truly magnificent ; but, indeed, it 
needs something to repay the long prairie 
journey of a tliousand miles. The sun has 
just shot above the wall, and makes a magic- 
- al change. The whole valley is glowing and 
\i)rjght, and all the mountain peaks are gleam- 
ing like silver. Though these snow moan- 
tains are not the Alps, they have their own 
character of grandeur and mrignirtcence,and 
will doubtless find pens and pencils to do 
them justice. In the scene before us, wp 
feel how much wood improves a view. The 
pines on the moimtain seemed to give it much 
additional beauty. I was agreeal)ly disap- 
pointed in the character of the streams on 
this side of the ridge. In-tead of the creeks, 
which description had led me to expect, I 



find bold, broad streams, with three or four 
feet water, and a rapid current. Ti)e fork 
on which we are encamped is upwards of a 
hundred feet wide, timbered with grove.** or 
thickets of the low willow. We were now 
approaching the loftiest part of the Wind 
river chain ; and I left the valley a few miles 
from our encampment, intending to penetrate 
the mountains as far as possible with the 
whole |)arty. We were soon involved in 
very broken ground, among long ridges cover- 
ed v>'ith fragments of granite. Windi-^g our 
way up a long ravine, we came unexpected- 
ly in view of a most beautiful lake, set like 
a gem in the mountains. The sheet of wa- 
ter lay transversely across the direction we 
had been pursuing ; and, descending the 
steep, rocky ridge, where it was necessary to 
lead our horses, sve followed its banks to the 
southern extremity. Here a view of the ut- 
most magnificence and grandeur burst upon 
oar eyes. With nothing between us and 
their feet -to lessen the effect of the whole 
height, a grand bed of snow-capped moun- 
tains rose before us, pile upon pile, glowing 
in the bright light of an August day. Irti- 
mediately below them lay the lake, between 
two ridges, covered with dark pines, which 
swept down from the main chain to the spot 
where we stood. Here, where the lake glit- 
tered in the open sunlight, its banks of yellov/ 
sand and the light foliage of aspen groves 
contrasted well with the gloomy pines. 
" Never before," said Mr. Preuss, " in this 
country or in EJurope. have I seen such mag- 
nificent, grand rocks." I was so much 
pleased with the beauty of the place, that I 
determined to make the main camp here, 
where our animals would find good pastur- 
age, and explore the mountains with a small 
party of men. Proceeding a little further, 
we came suddenly upon the outlet of the 
lake, where it found its way through a narrow 
passage between low hills. Dark pines, 
which overhung the stream, and masses of 
rock, where the water I'oamed along, gave it 
much romantic beauty. Where we crossed, 
which was immediately at the outlet, it is two 
hundred and fifty feet wide, and so deep that 
with difficulty we were able to ford it. Ita 
bed was an accumulation of rocks, boulders, 
and broad slabs, and large angular fragments, 
among which the animals fell repeatedly. 

The current was very swift, and the water 
cold, and of a crystal purity. In crossing 
this stream, I met with a great misfortune 
in having my Ixirometer broken. It was the 
only one. A great part of the interest of 
the journey for me was in the exploration of 
these mountains, of which so much had 
lieen said that was doubtful and ci>nlradict- 
ory ; and now their snowy peaks ro-^e ma- 
jestically before me, and the only means of 
j.i.'ing ihcm authenlically to science, the 



1842.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



41 



object of my anxious solicitude by night and 
day, was destroyed. We had brought this 
barometer in safety a thousand miles, and 
broke it almost among the snow of the 
mountains. The loss was felt by the whole 
camp — all had seen my anxiety, and aided 
me in preserving it. The height of these 
mountains, considered by the hunters and 
traders the highest in the whole range, had 
been a theme of constant discussion among 
them ; and all had looked forward with plea- 
sure to the moment when the instrument, 
which they believed to be true as the sun, 
should stand upon the summits, and decide 
their disputes. Their grief was only inferior 
to my own. 

The lake is about three miles long, and of 
very irregular width, and apparently great 
depth, and is the head water ot the third Aew 
Fork, a tributary to Green river, the Colo- 
rado of the west. In the narrative, I have 
called it Mountain lake. I encamped on the 
north side, about three hundred and fifty 
yards from the outlet. This was the most 
we«tcrn point at which I obtained astro- 
nomical observations, by which tliis place, 
called Eernier's encampment, is made in 
110° 08' 03" west longitude from Greenwich, 
and latitude 43° 49' 49". The mountain 
peaks, as laid down, were fixed by bearings 
from this and other astronomical points. We 
had no other compass than the small ones 
used in sketching the country; but from an 
azimuth, in wiiich one of them was used, the 
variation of the compass is 18° east. The 
correction made in our field work by the as- 
tronomical observations indicates that this 
is a very correct observation. 

As soon as the camp was formed, I set 
about endeavoring to repair my barometer. 
As I have already said, this was a standard 
cistern barometer, of Troughton's con- 
struction. The glass cistern had been 
broken about midway ; but as the in^rument 
had been kept in a proper position, no air had 
found its way into tlie tube,- the end of which 
had always remained covered. I had with 
me a number of vials of tolerably thick glass, 
some of which were of the same diameter 
as the cistern, and I spent the day in slowly 
working on these, endeavoring to cut them 
of the requisite length ; but, as my instru- 
ment was a very rough file, I invariably 
broke them. A groove was cut in one of the 
trees, where the barometer was placed du- 
ring the night, to be out of the way of any 
possible danger, and in the morning I com- 
menced again. Among the powder horns 
in the camp, I found one which was very 
transparent, so that its contents could be 
almost as plainly seen as through glass. 
This I boiled and stretched on a piece of 
wbod to the requisite diameter and scraped 



it very thin, in order to increase to the ut- 
most its transparency. I then secured it 
firmly in its ^lace on the instrument, with 
strong glue made from a buffalo, and filled it 
with mercury, properly heated. A piece of 
skin, which had covered one of the viaJs, 
furnished a good pocket, which was well se- 
cured with strong thread and glue, and then 
the brass cover was screwed to its place. 
The instrument was left some time to dry; 
and when I reversed it, a few hours after, I 
had the satisfaction to find it in perfect order; 
its indications being about the same as on 
the other side of the lake before it had been 
broken. Our success in this little incident 
diffused pleasure throughout the camp ; and 
we immediately set about our preparations 
for ascending the mountains. 

As will be seen on reference to a map, on 
tliis short mountain chain are the head waters 
of four great rivers of the continent; namely, 
the Colorado, Columbia, Missouri, and Platte 
rivers. It had been my design, after having 
ascended the mountains, to continue our route 
on the western side of the range, and cross- 
in'j through a pass at the northwestern end 
of the chain, about thirty miles from our 
present camp, return along the eastern slope, 
across the heads of the Yellowstone river, 
and join on the line to our station of August 
7, immediately at the foot of the ridge. In 
this way, I should be enabled to include the 
whole chain, and its numerous waters, in my 
survey ; but various considerations incluced 
me, very reluctantly, to abandon this plan. 

I was desirous to keep strictly within the 
scope of my instructions ; and it would have 
required ten or fifteen additional days for the 
accomplishment of this object; our animals 
had become very much worn out with the 
length of the journey ; game was very scarce; 
and, though it does not appear in the course 
of the narrative (as I have avoided dwelling 
upon trifling incidents not connected with the 
objects of tlie expedition), the spirits of the 
men had been much exhausted by the hard- 
ships and privations to which they had been 
subjected. Our provisions had wellnigh all 
disappeared. Bread had been long out of the 
question ; and of all our stock, we had re- 
maining two or thr?e pounds of coffee, and a 
small quantity of maccaroni, which had been 
husbanded with great care for the mountain 
expedition we were about to undertake. Oar 
daily meal consisted of dry buffalo meat^ 
cooked in tallow ; and, as we had not dried 
this with Indian skill, part of it was spoiled ; 
and what remained of good, was as hard as 
wood, having much the taste and appearance 
of so many pieces of bark. Even of this^ 
our stock was rapidly diminishing in a camp 
which was capableofconsuming two buffaloes 
in every twenty-four hours. These animais^ 



42 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1842. 



had entirely disappeared ; and it was not pro- 
bable that we should fall in with them again 
until we returned to the Sweet Water. 

Onr arrangements for the ascent were 
rapidly completed. We were in a hostile 
country, which rendered the greatest vigi- 
lance and circumspection necessary. The 
pass at the north end of the mountain was 
generally infested by Blackfeet ; and imme- 
diately opposite was one of their forts, on the 
edge of a little thicket, two or three hundred 
feet from our encampment. We were posted 
in a grove of beech, on the margin of the 
lake, and a few hundred feet long, with a nar- 
row prairillon on the inner side, bordered by 
the rocky ridge. In the upper end of this 
grove we cleared a circular space about forty 
feet in diameter, and, with the felled timber 
and interwoven branches, surrounded it with 
a breastwork five feet in height. A gap was 
left for a gate on the inner side, by which the 
animals were to be driven in and secured, 
while the men slept around the little work. 
It was half hidden by the foliage ; and, gar- 
risoned by twelve resolute men. wouid have 
eet at defiance any band of savages which 
might chance to discover them in the inter- 
Tal of our absence. Fifteen of the best 
mules, with fourteen men, were selected for 
the mountain party. Our provisions consist- 
ed of dried meat for two days, with our little 
stock of coffee and some maccavoni. In ad- 
dition to the barometer and a thermometer, I 
took with me a sextant and spy-glass, and 
we had of course our compasses. In charge 
of the camp I left Bernier, one of my most 
trustworthy men, who possessed the most 
determined courage. 

Augu-^t 12. — Early in the morning we left 
the camp, fifteen in number, well armed, of 
conrse, and mounted on our best mules. A 
pack animal carried our provisions, with a 
coffee pot and kettle, and three or four tin 
cups. Every man had a blanket strapped 
over his saddle, to serve for his bed, and the 
instruments were carried by turns on their 
backs. We ent(?red directly on rough and 
rocky ground ; and, just after crossing the 
ridge, had the good fortune to shoot an ante- 
lope. We heard the roar, and had a glimpse 
of a waterfall as we rode along ; and, cross- 
ing in our way two fine streams, tributary to 
the Colorado, in about two hours' ride we 
reached the top of the first row or range of 
the mountains. Here, again, a view of the 
most romantic beauty met our eyes. It 
seemed as if, from the-vast expanse of unin- 
teresting prairie we had passed over, Nature 
had collected all her beauties together in one 
chosen place. We were overlooking a deep 
valley, which was entirely occupied by three 
lakes, and from the brink the surrounding 
ridges rose precipitously five hundred and a 
thousand feet, covered with the dark green of 



the balsam pine, relieved on the boi*der of the 
lake with the light foliage of the aspen. 
They all communicated with each other ; and 
the green of the waters, common to mountain 
lakes of great depth, showed that it would be 
impossible to cross them. The surprise 
manifested by our guides when these impas- 
sable obstacles suddenly barred our progre-^is 
proved that they were among the hidden 
treasTires of the place, unknown even to the 
wandering trappers of the region. Descend- 
ing the hill, we proceeded to make our way 
along the margin to the southern extremity. 
A narrow strip of angular fragments of rock 
sometimes afforded a rough pathway for our 
mules, but generally we rode along the shelv- 
ing side, occasionally scrambling up, at a 
considerable risk of tumbling back into the 
lake. 

The slope was frequently GOo ; the pines 
grew densely together, and the ground was 
covered with the branches and trunks of 
trees. The air was fragrant with the odor 
of the pines; and I realized this delightful 
morning the pleasure of breathing that 
mountain air which makes a constant theme 
of the hunter's piuise, and which now made 
ns feel as if we had all been drinking some ex- 
hilarating gas. The depths of this unex- 
plored forest were a place to delight the heart 
of a botanist. There was a rich undergrowth 
of plants, and numerous gay-colored flowers 
in brilliant bloom. We reached the outlet at 
length, where some freshly barked willows 
that lay in the water showed tliat beaver had 
been recently at work. There were some 
small brown squirrels jumping about in tlie 
pines, and a couple of large mallard ducks 
swimming about in the stream. 

The hills on this southern end were low, 
and the lake looked like a mimic sea, as the 
waves broke on the sandy beach in the force 
of a strong breeze. There was a pretty open 
spot, with fine grass for our mules ; and 
we made our noon halt on the beach, under 
the shade of some large hemlocks. We re- 
sumed our journey after a halt of about an 
hour, making our way up the ridge on the 
western side of the lake. In search of 
smoother ground, we rode a little inland ; 
and, passing through groves of aspen, soon 
found ourselves again among the pines. 
Emerging from these, we struck the summit 
of the ridge above the upper end of the lake. 

We had reached a very elevated point; 
and in the valley below, and among the hills, 
were a number of lakes at dilfejent levels ; 
some two or three hundred feet above otli- 
ers, with which they communicated "by foam- 
ing torrents. Even to our groat height, the 
roar of the cataracts came up, and we could 
^see them leaping down in lines of snowy 
foum. Fronf this scene of busy watprs, we 
turned abruptly into the stillness of a ioreat> 



1S43.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATF/E. 



4a 



where we rode among the open bolls of the 
pines, over a lawn of verdant grass, having 
strikingly the air of cultivated grounds. 
This led u«, after a time, among masses of 
Tock which had no vegetable earth but in 
hollows and crevices, thongh still the pine 
forest continued. Toward evening, we 
reacbtd a defile, or rather a hole in the 
mountains, entirely shut in by dark pine- 
covered rocks. 

A small stream, with a scarcely percepti- 
ble current, fVswed through a level bottom 
of perhaps eighty yards width, where the 
jn^ass v/as saturated with water. Into this 
tjie mules wero turned, and were neither 
hobbled nor picketed during the night, as the 
fiiie pasturage took away all temptation to 
stray ; and we made our bivouac in the 
pines. The surrounding masses were all 
of granite. While supper was being pre- 
pared, I set out on an e.xcnrsion in the 
neighborhood, accompanied by one of my 
men. We wandered about among the crags 
and ravines until dark, richly repaid for our 
walk by a fine collection of plants, many of 
them in full bloom. Ascending a peak to 
find tlie place of our camp, we saw that the 
little defile in which we lay, communicated 
with the long green valley of some stream, 
which, here locked up in the mountains, far 
away to the south, found its way in a dense 
forest to the plains. 

Looking along its upward course, it seem- 
ed to conduct, by a smooth gradual slope, 
directly tov^ard the peak, which, from long 
consultation as we approached the mountain, 
we had decided to be the highest of the 
range. Pleased with the discovery of so fine 
a road for the next da}', we hastened down to 
the camp where we arrived just in time for 
supper. Our table service was rather scant ; 
and we held the meat in our hands, and clean 
rocks made good plates, on which we spread 
our maccaroni. Among all the strange pla- 
ces on which we had occasion to encamp 
during our long journey, none have left so 
vivid an impression on my mind as the camo 
of this evening. The disorder of the masses 
which surrounded us ; the little hole through 
which we saw the stars over head ; the dark 
pines where we slept ; and the rocks lit up 
with the glow of our fires, made a night 
picture of very wild beauty. 

August 13. — The mornin^was bright and 
pleasant, just cool enough to make exercise 
agreeable, and we soon entered the defile I 
had seen the preceding day. It was smooth- 
ly carpeted with a soft grass, and scattered 
over with groups of Cowers, of which yellow 
was the predominant color. Sometimes we 
were forced, by an occasional difficult pass, 
to pick our way on a narrow ledge along the 
side of t!ie defile, and the mules were fre- 
quently on their kacea ; but these obstruc- 



tions were rare, and we jonrncyed on in the 
sweet morning air, delighted at our good for- 
tune in having found such a beautiful en- 
trance to the mountains. This road contin- 
ued for about three miles, when v.e suddenly 
reached its termination in one of the grand 
views which, at every turn, meet the travel- 
ler in this magnificent region. Here the de- 
.file up which we had travelled opened out 
into a small lawn, where, in a little lake, the 
stream had its source. 

There were some fine asters in bloom, but 
all the flowering plants appeared to seek the 
shelter of the rocks, and to be of lower 
growth than below, as if they loved the 
warmth of the soil, and kept out of the way 
of the winds. Immediatoly at our feet a 
precipitous descent led to a confusion of de- 
files, and before us rose the mountains as 
we have represented them in the annexed 
view. It is not by the splendor of far-ofl' 
views, which have lent such a glory to the 
Alps, that these impress the mind; but by a 
gigantic disorder of enormous masses, and a 
savage sublimity of naked rock, in wonder- 
ful contrast v.ith innumerable green spots 
of a rich floral beauty, shut up in their stern 
recesses. Their wildness seems well suited 
to the character of the people who inhabit 
the country. 

I determined to leave our animals here, 
and make the rest of our way on foot. The 
peak appeared so near, that there was no 
doubt of our returning before night ; and a 
few men were left in charge of the mules, 
with our provisions and blankets. We took 
with us nothing but our arms and instru- 
ments, and, as the day had become warm, 
the greater part left our coats. Having 
made an early dinner, we started again. 
We were soon involved in the most ragged 
precipices, rearing the central chain very 
slowly, and rising but little. The first ridge 
hid a succession of others ; and when, with 
great fatigue and difficulty, we had climbed 
up five hundred feet, it was but to make an 
equal descent on the other side ; all these in- 
tervening places were filled with small deep 
lakes, wliich met the eye in every direction, 
descending from one level to another, some- 
times under bridges formed by huge frag- 
ments of granite, beneath which was heard 
the roar of the water. These constantly ob- 
structed our path, forcing us to make long 
detours; frequently obliged to retrace our 
steps, and frequently falling among the rocks. 
Maxwell was precipitated toward the face 
of a precipice, and saved himself from going 
over by throwing himself flat on the ground. 
We clambered on, always expecting, with 
every ridge that we crossed, to reach the foci 
of the peaks, and always disappointed, until 
about four o'clock, when, pretty v.ell worn 
out, we reached the shore cf a little lake in 



44 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1842. 



which was a rocky island. We remained 
here a short lime to rest, and continued on 
around the lake, which had in some places 
a beach of white sand, and in others was 
bound with rocks, over which the way was 
difficult and dangerous, as tho water from 
innumerable springs made them very slip- 
pery. 

By the time we had reached the farther 
side of the lake, we found ourselves all ex- 
ceedingly fatigued, and, much to the satis- 
faction of the whole party, we encamped. 
The spot we had chosen was a broad flat 
rock, in some measure protected from tlic 
winds by the surrounding crags, and tho 
trunks of fallen pines afforded us bright 
fires. Near by was a foaming torrent, wliicli 
tumbled into the little lake about one hun- 
dred and fifty feet below us, and which, by 
way of distinction, we have called Island 
lake. We had reached the upper limit of 
the piney region ; as, above this point, no 
tree was to be seen, and patches of snow lay 
everywhere around us on the cold sides of 
the rocks. The flora of the region we had 
traversed since leaving our mules was ex- 
tremely rich, and, among the characteristic 
plants, the scarlet flowers of the dodecatheon 
den'.atum everywhere met the eye in great 
abundance. A small green ravine, on the 
edge of which we were encamped, was filled 
with a profusion of alpine plants in brilliant 
bloom. From barometrical observations, 
made during our three days' sojourn at this 
place, its elevation above the Gulf of Mexico 
is 10,000 feet. During the day, v/e had seen 
no sign of animal life ; but among the rocks 
here, we heard what was supposed to be the 
bleat of a young goat, which we searched 
for with hungry activity, and found to pro- 
ceed from a small animal of a grey color, 
with short ears and no tail — probably the 
Siberian squirrel. We saw a considerable 
number of them, and, with the exception of 
a small bird like a sparrow, it is the only 
inhabitant of this elevated part of the moun- 
tains. On our return, we saw, below this 
lake, large flocks of the mountain goat. We 
had nothing to eat to-night. Lajeunesse, 
with several others, took their guns, and 
sallied out in search of a goat ; but returned 
unsuccessful. At sunset, the barometer 
stood at 20.522 ; the attached thermometer 
60°. Here we had the misfortune to break 
our thermometer, having now only that at- 
tached to the barometer. I was taken ill 
shortly after we had encamped, and continu- 
ed so until late in the night, with violent 
headache and vomiting. This was probably 
caused by the excessive fatigue I had under- 
gone, and want of food, and perhaps, also, 
In some measure, by the rarity of the air. 
The night was cold, as a violent gale from 
the north had sprung up at sunset, which 



entirely blew away the heat of the fires. 
The cold, and our granite beds, had not been 
favorable to sleep, and we were glad to see 
the face of the sun in the morning. Not be- 
ing delayed by any preparation for break- 
fast, we set ouL immediately. 

On every side as we advanced was heard 
the roar of waters, and of a torrent, which 
we followed up a short distance, until it ex- 
panded into a lake about one mile in length. 
On the northern side of the lake was a bank 
of ice, or rather of snow covered witli a 
crust of ice. Carson had been our guide 
into the mountains, and, agreeably to his 
advice, we left this little valley, and took to 
the ridges again ; which we found extremely 
broken, and where we were again involved 
among precipices. Here were ice fields ; 
among which we were all dispersed^ seeking 
each the best path to ascend the peak. Mr. 
Preuss attempted to walk along the upper 
edge of one of these fields, which sloped 
away at an angle of about twenty degrees ; 
but his feet slipped from under him, and he 
went plunging down the plane. A few 
hundred feet below, at the bottom, were 
some fragments of sharp rock, on which he 
landed ; and though he turned a couple of 
somersets, fortunately received no injury be- 
yond a few bruises. Two of the men, Cle- 
ment Lambert and Descoteanx, had been 
taken ill, and lay down on the rocks a short 
distance below; and at this point I was at- 
tacked with headache and giddiness, accom- 
panied by vomiting, as on thd day before. 
Finding myself unable to proceed, I sent the 
barometer over to Mr. Preuss, who was in a 
gap two or three hundred yards distant, de- 
siring him to reach the peak, if possible, and 
take an observation there. He found him- 
self unable to proceed further in that direc- 
tion, and took an observation, where the ba- 
rometer stood at 19.401 ; attached thermo- 
meter 50o, in the gap. Carson, who had 
gone over to him, succeeded in reaching one 
of the snowy summits of the main ridge, 
whence he saw the peak towards which all 
our efforts had been directed, towering eight 
or ten hundred feet into the air above him. 
In the meantime, finding myself grow rather 
worse than better, and doubtful how far my 
strength would carry me, I sent Basil La- 
jeunesse, with four men, back to tlie place 
where the mul* had boen left. 

We were now better acquainted with the 
topography of the country, and I directed 
him to bring back with him, if it were in 
any way possible, four or five mules, with 
provisions and blankets. With me were 
Maxwell and Ayer ; and after we had re- 
mained nearly an hour on the rock, it he- 
came so unpleasantly cold, though the day 
was bright, that we set out on our return to 
tlie camp, at which we all arrived safely. 



1842.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



4S 



straggling in one after the other. I con- 
tinued ill during the afternoon, but became 
better towards sundown, when my recovery 
was completed by the appearance of Basil 
and four men, all mounted. The men who 
had gone with him had been too much fa- 
tigued to return, and were relieved by those 
in charge of the horses ; but in his powers 
of endurance Basil resembled more a moun- 
tain goat than a man. They brought blan- 
kets and provisions, and we enjoyed well our 
dried meat and a cup of good coffee. We 
rolled ourselves up in our blankets, and, 
with our feet turned to a blazing fire, slept 
fioundly until morning. 

AugvM 15. — It had been supposed that we 
haci finished with the mountains ; and the 
evening before, it had been arranged that 
Carson should set out at daylight, and re- 
turn to breakfast at the Camp of the Mules, 
taking with him all but four or five men, 
who were to stay with me and bring back 
the mules and instruments. Accordingly, 
at the break of day they set out. With Mr. 
Preuss and myself remainfd Basil Lajeu- 
iiessc, Clement Lambert, Janisse, and Desco- 
teaux. When we had secured strength for 
the day by a hearty breakfast, we covered 
what remained, whicli was enough for one 
meal, with rocks, in order that il might be 
safe from any marauding bird ; and, saddling 
our mules, turned our faces once more to- 
wards the peaks. This time we determined 
Xd proceed quietly and cautiously, deliber- 
ately resolved to accomplish our object if it 
were within the compass of human means. 
We were of opinion that a long defile which 
lay to«the left of yesterday's route would 
lead us to the foot of the main peak. Our 
mules had been refreshed by the fine grass 
in the little ravine at the Island camp, and 
v/e intended to ride up the defile as far as 
possible, in order to husband our strength 
for the main ascent. Though this was a 
fine passage, still it was a defile of the most 
rugged mountains known, and we had many 
a rough and steep slippery place to cross 
before reaching the end. In this place the 
6un rarely shone; snow lay along the border 
of the small stream which flowed through it, 
and occasional icy passages made the foot- 
ing of the mules very insecure, and the 
rocks and ground were moist with the trick- 
ling waters in this spring of mighty rivers. 
We soon had the satisfaction to find our- 
selves riding along the huge wall which 
forms the central summits of the chain. 
There at last it rose by our sides, a nearly 
perpendicular wall of granite, terminating 
2,000 to 3,000 feet above our heads in a ser- 
Tated line of broken, jagged cones. We 
rode on until we came almost immediately 
below the main peak, which I denominated 
the Snow pealc, as it exhibited more snow 



(o the eye than any of the neighboring sum- 
mits. Here were three small lakes of a 
green color, each of perhaps a thousand 
yards in diameter, and apparently very deep- 
These lay in a kind of chasm ; and, accord- 
ing to the barometer, we had attained but a 
few hundred feet above the Island lake. The 
barometer here stood at 20.450, attached 
thermometer 70®. 

We managed to get our mules up to a 
little bench about a hundred feet above the 
lakes, where there was a patch of good 
grass, and turned them loose to graze. Du- 
ring our rough ride to this place, they had 
exhibited a wonderful surefootedness. Parts 
of the defile were filled with angular, sharp 
fragments of rock, three or four and eight or 
ten feet cube ; and among these they had 
worked their way, leaping from one narrow 
point to another, rarely making a false step, 
and giving us no occasion to dismount. 
Having divested ourselves of every unneces- 
sary encumbrance, we commenced the as- 
cent. This time, like experienced travellers, 
we did not press ourselves, but climbed 
leisurely, sitting down so soon as we found 
breath beginning to fail. At intervals we 
reached places where a number of springs 
gushed from the rocks, and about 1,800 feet 
above the likes came to the snow line. 
From this point our progress was uninter- 
rupted climbing. Hitherto I had worn a 
pair of thick moccasins, with soles of far- 
JiScJie ; but here I put on a light thin pair, 
which I had brought for the purpose, as now 
the use of our toes became necessary to a 
further advance. I availed myself of a sort 
of comb of the mountain, which stood against 
the wall like a buttress, and which the wind 
and the solar radiation, joined to the steep- 
ness of the smooth rock, had kept almost en- 
tirely free from snow. Up this I made my 
way rapidly. Our cautious method of ad- 
vancing in the outset had spared my strength ; 
and, with the exception of a slight disposi- 
tion to headache, I felt no remains of yester- 
day's illness. In a few minutes we reached 
a point where the buttress was overhanging, 
and there was no other way of surmounting 
the difficulty than by passing around one 
side of it, which was the face of a vertical 
precipice of several hundred feet. 

Putting hands and feet in the crevices be- 
tween the blocks, I succeeded in getting 
over it, and, when I reached the top, found 
my companions in a small valley below. 
Descending to them, we continued climbing, 
and in a short time reached the crest. I 
sprang upon the summit, and another step 
would have precipitated me into an immense 
snow field five hundred feet below. To the 
edge of this field was a sheer icy precipice; 
and then, with a gradual fall, the field sloped 
off for about a mile, until it struck the foot 



46 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[184S 



of another lower rWge. I stood on a narrow 
creet, about three feet in width, with an in- 
clination of about 20° N. 61° E. As soon 
as I had gratified the first feelings of curi- 
osity, I descended, and each man ascended 
in his turn ; for I would only allow one at a 
time to mount the unstable and precarious 
slab, which it seemed a breath would hurl 
into the abyss below. We mounted the ba- 
rometer in the snow of the summit, and, fix- 
ing a ramrod in a crevice, unfurled the na- 
tional flag to wave in the breeze where never 
flag waved before. During our morning's 
ascent, we had met no sign of animal life, 
except the small sparrow-like bird already 
mentioned. A stillness the most profound 
and a terrible solitude forced themselves con- 
stantly on tlie mind as the great features of 
the place. Here, on the summit, where the 
stillness was absolute, unbroken by any 
sound, and tiic solitude complete, we thought 
ourselves beyond the region of animated life ; 
but while we were sitting ont he rock, a soli- 
tary bee (bromus, the humble bee) came 
■winging his flight from the eastern valley, 
and lit on the knee of one of the men. 

It was a strange place, the icy rock and 
the highest peak of the Rocky monntaias, 
for a lover of warm sunshine and flowers; 
and we plea.sed ourselves witli the idea that 
he was the first of his species to cross the 
mountain barrier — a solitary pioneer to fore- 
tell the advance of civilisation. I believe 
that a moment's tliought would have made 
us let him continue his way unharmed ; but 
we carried out the law of this country, where 
all animated nature seems at war ; and, seiz- 
ing him immediately, put him in at least a 
fit place — in the leaves of a large book, 
among the flowers we had collected on our 
way. The barometer stood at IS. 293, the 
attached thermometer at 44'^ ; giving for the 
elevation of tiiis summit 1 3,570 ieet above 
the Gulf of Mexico, which may be called the 
highest flight of the bee. It is certainly the 
highest known flight of that in.sect. From 
the description given by Mackenzie of tiic 
mountains where he crossed them, with that 
of a French officer still farther to the north, 
and Colonel Long's measurements to the 
south, joined to the opinion of the oldest tra- 
ders of the country, it is presumed that this 
is the highest peak of the Rocky mountains. 
The day was sunny and bright, but a slight 
shining mist hung over the lower plains, 
which interfered with our view of the sur- 
rounding country. On one side we over- 
looked innumerable lakes and streams, the 
spring of the Colorado of the Gulf of Cali- 
fornia ; and on the other was the Wind river 
valley, where were tiie heads of the Yellow- 
stone branch of the Missouri ; far to the 
north, we just could discover the snowy 
heads of the Trois TiUons, whcxa were the 



sources of the Missouri and Columbia rivers ;: 
and at the southern extremity of the ridge, 
the peaks were plainly visible, among which 
were some of the springs of the Nebraska or 
Platte river. Around us, the whole scene 
had one main striking feature, which was 
that of terrible convulsion. Parallel to ita 
length, the ridge was split into chasms and 
fissures ; between which rose the thin lofty 
walls, terminated with slender minarets and 
columns. According to the barometer, the 
little crest of the wall on which we stood' 
was three thousand five hundred and seventy 
feet above that place, and two thousand 
seven hundred and eighty above the little 
lakes at the bottom, immediately at our feet. 
Our camp at the Two Hills (an astronomical 
station) bore south 3° east, which, with a 
bearing aff^rward obtained from a fixed po- 
sition, enabled us to locate the peak. The 
bearing of the Trds Tetons was north fiO** 
west, and the direction of the central ridge 
of the Wind river mountains south 39° east. 
The summit rock was gneiss, succeeded by 
sienitic gneiss. Sienite and feldspar suc- 
ceeded in our descent to the snow lino, 
where we found a feldspathic granite. I 
had remarked that the noise produced by tho 
explosion of our pistols had the usual degree 
of loudness, but was not in the lea.st pro- 
longed, expiring almost instantaneously. 
Having now made what observations ouv 
means afforded, we proceeded to descend. 
We had accomplished an object of laudable 
ambition, and beyond the strict order of our 
instructions. We had climbed the loftiest 
peak of the Rocky mountains, and looketl 
down upon the snow a thousand feet below, 
and, standing where never human foot had 
stood before, felt the exultation of first ex- 
plorers. It was about 2 o'clock when we 
left the summit ; and when we reached the 
bottom, the sun had already sunk behind the 
wail, and the day was drawing to a close. 
It would have been pleasant to have lingered 
here and on the summit longer ; but we hur- 
ried away as rapidly as the ground would 
permit, for it was an object to regain our 
party as soon as possible, not knowing what 
accident the next hour might bring forth. 

We reached our deposit of provisions at 
nightfall. Here was not the inn which 
awaits the tired traveller on his return from 
Mont Blanc, or the orange groves of Soutli 
America, with their refreshing juices and soft, 
fragrant air ; but we found our little aicke of 
dried meat and collec undisturbed. Though 
the moon was bright, the road was full of 
precipice.-^, and the fatigue of the day had 
been great. We therefore abandoned the 
idea of rejoining our friends, ai>d lay down on 
the rock, and, in spite of the cold, slept 
soundly. 

Atiguit lG.->-We lefl our encampment 



1842.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



47 



with the daylight. We saw on onr way 
large flocks of the mountain goat looking 
down on us from the cliffs. At the crack of 
a rifle, they would bound off among the rocks, 
and in a few minutes make their appearance 
on some lofty peak, some hundred or a thou- 
sand feet above. It is needless to attemj)t 
any further description of the country; tlic 
portion over which we travelled this morning 
was rough as imagination could picture it, 
and to us seemed equally beautiful. A con- 
course of lakes and rushing waters, moun- 
tains of rocks naked and destitute of vegeta- 
IAq earth, dells and ravines of the most 
exquisite beauty, all kept green and fresh by 
the great moisture in the air, and sown with 
brilliant flowers, and everywhere thrown 
around all the glory of most magnificent 
scenes : these constitute the features of the 
place, and impress themselves vividly on the 
mind of the traveller. It was not until 11 
o'clock that we reached the place where our 
animals had been left, when we first attempt- 
ed the mountains on loot. Near one of the 
Ktill burning fires we found a piece of meat, 
which our friends had thrown away, and 
which furnished us a mouthful — a very 
scanty breakfast. We continued directly 
on, and reached our camp on the mountain 
lake at dusk. We found all well. Nothing 
had occurred to interrupt the quiet since our 
departure, and the fine grass and good cool 
vfater had done much to re-establish our ani- 
mals. All heard with great delight the order 
to turn our faces homeward ; and toward 
sundown of the 17th, we encamped again at 
the Two Buttes. 

In the course of this afternoon's march, 
tho barometer was broken past remedy. I 
regretted it, as I was desirous to compare it 
again with Dr. Engleman's barometers at St. 
Itonis, to which mine were referred ; but it 
had done its part well, and my objects were 
mainly fulfilled. 

Av.gusl 19. — We left our camp on Little 
Sandy river about 7 in the morning, and tra- 
versed the same sandy, undulating country. 
The air was filled with the turpentine scent 
of the various ariemisias, which are now in 
bloom, and, numerous as they are, give mucli 
gaiety to the landscape of the plains. At 
10 o'clock, we stood exactly on the divide in 
the pas.s, where the wagon road crosses, and, 
descending immediately upon the Sweet 
Water, halted to take a meridian observation 
of the sun. The latitude was 42° 24' 32". 

In the course of tiie afternoon we saw buf- 
falo again and at our evening halt on the 
Sweet Water the roasted ribs again made 
their appearance around the fires ; and, with 
them, eood humor, and laughter, and song, 
were restored to the camp. Our coffee had 
been expended, but wo now made a kind of 
tea from the roots of the wild cherry tree. 



August 23. — Yesterday evening we reach- 
ed our encampment at Rock Independence, 
where I took some astronomical observations. 
Here, not unmindful of the custom of early 
travellers and explorers in our country, I en- 
graved on this rock of the Far West a sym- 
bol of the Christian faith. Among the thickly 
inscribed names, I made on the hard granite 
the impression of a large cross, which I co- 
vered with a black preparation of India rubber, 
well calculated to resist the influence of wind 
and rain. It stands amidst the names of 
many who have long since found their way 
to the grave, and lor whom the huge rock is 
a giant gravestone. 

One George Weymouth was sent out to 
Maine by the Earl of Southampton, Lord 
Arundel, and others ; and in tlie narrative of 
their di.-scoveries, he says : " The next day, 
we ascended in our pinnace that part of the 
river which lies more to the westward, cany- 
ing with us a cross — a thing never omitted by 
any Christian traveller — which we erected, 
at the ultimate end of our route." This was 
in the year 1605; and in 1842 I obeyed the 
feeling of early travellers, and left the im- 
pression of the cross deeply engraved on the 
vast rock one thousand miles beyond the 
Mississippi, to whicii discoverers have giv^n 
the national name of Rock Independence. 

In obedience to my instructions to survey 
the river Platte, if possible, I had determined 
to make an attempt at this place. The India 
rubber boat was filled witli air, placed in the 
water, and loaded with what was necessary 
for our operations ; and I embarked with Mr. 
Preuss and a party of men. When we had 
dragged our boat for a mile or two over the 
sands, I abandoned the impossible undertak- 
ing, and waited for the arrival of the party, 
when we packed up our boat and equipage, 
and at 9 o'clock were again moving along 
on our land journey. We continued along 
the valley on the right bank of the Sweet 
Water, where the formation, as already de- 
scribed, consists of a greyish micaceous sand- 
stone, and tine-grained conglomerate, and 
marl. We passed over a ridge which bor- 
ders or constitutes the river hills of the 
Platte, consisting of huge blocks, sixty or 
eighty feet cube, of decomposing granite. 
The cement which united them was proba- 
bly of easier decomposition, and has disap- 
peared and left them isolate, and separated 
by small spaces. Numerous horns of the 
mountain goat were lying among the rocks ; 
and in the ravines were cedars, whose trunks 
were of extraordinary size. From this ridge 
we descended to a small open plain at the 
mouth of the Sweet Water, which rushed 
with a rapid current into the Platte, here 
flowing along in a broad, and apparently 
deep stream, which seemed, from its turbid 
appearance, to be considerably swollen, t 



48 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[16431 



obtained here some astronomical observations, 
and the aflemoon was spent in getting our 
boat ready for navigation the next day. 

August 24. — We started before sunrise, 
intending to breakfast at Goat Island. I had 
directed the land party, in charge of Bernier, 
to proceed to this place, where they were to 
remain, should they find no note to apprise 
them of our having passed. In the event of 
receiving this information, they were to con- 
tinue their route, passing by certain places 
which had been designated. Mr. Preuss ac- 
companied me, and with us were five of my 
be«t men, viz : C. Lambert, Basil Lajeunesse, 
Honor^ Ayot, Benoist, and Descoteau.\. 
Here appeared no scarcity of water, and we 
took on board, with various instruments and 
baffgage, provisions for ten or twelve days. 
We paddled down the river rapidly, for our 
little craft was light as a duck on the water ; 
and the sun had been some time risen, when 
we heard before iis a hollow roar, which we 
supposed to be that of a fall, of which we 
had heard a vague rumor, but whose exact 
locality no one hud been able to describe to 
U3. We were approaching n ridge, through 
which the river passes by a place called 
" canon " (pronounced kamjmi), a Spanish 
word, signifying a piece of artillery, the bar- 
rel of a gun, or any kind of tube ; and which, 
in this country, has been adopted to describe 
the passage of a. river between perpendicular 
rocks of great height, which frequently ap- 
proach each other so closely overhead as to 
form a kind of tunnel over the stream, which 
foams along below, half choked up by fallen 
fragments. Between the mouth of the 
Sweet Water and Goat island, there is pro- 
bably a fall of 300 feet, and that was princi- 
pally made in the canons before us ; as, with- 
out them, the water was comparatively 
smooth. As we neared the ridge, the river 
made a sudden turn, and swept squarely down 
against one of the walls of the caiion with 
a great velocity, and so steep a descent, that 
it had, to the eye, the appearance of an in- 
clined plane. When we launched into this, 
the men jumped overboard, to check the ve- 
locity of the boat, but were soon in water up 
to their necks, and our boat ran on ; but we 
succeeded in bringing her to a small point of 
rocks on the right, at the mouth of the caiion. 
Here was a kind of elevated sand beach, not 
many yards square, backed by the rocks, and 
around the point the river swept at a right 
angle. Trunks of trees deposited on jutting 
points 20 or 30 feet above, and other marks, 
showed that the water here frequently rose 
to a considerable height. The ridge was of 
the same decomposing granite already men- 
tioned, and the water had worked the surface, 
in many places, into a wavy surface of ridgos 
and holes. We ascended Uie rocks to recon- 



noitre the ground, and from the summit the 
passage appeared to be a continued cataract 
foaming over many obstructions, and broken 
by a number of small falls. We saw no- 
where a fall answering to that which had 
been described to us as having 20 or 25 feet ; 
but still concluded this to be the place in 
question, as, in the season of floods, the rush 
of the river against the wall would produce 
a great rise, and the waters, reflected squarely 
off, would descend through the passage in a 
sheet of foam, having every appearance of a 
large fall. Eighteen years previous to this 
time, as I have subsequently learned from> 
himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, somewhere above 
on this river, had embarked with a valuable 
cargo of beaver. Unacquainted with tlie 
stream, which he believed would conduct 
him safely to the Missouri, he came unex- 
pectedly into this caiion, where he was 
wrecked, with the total loss of his furs. It 
would have been a work of great time and 
labor to pack our baggage across the ridge, 
and I determined to run the cafion. We all 
again embarked, and at first attempted to 
check the way of the boat ; but the water 
swept through with so much violence that 
we narrowly escaped being swamped, and 
were obliged to let her go in the full force of 
the current, and trust to the skill of the boat- 
men. The dangerous places in this caiioa 
were where huge rocks had fallen from above, 
and hemmed in the already narrow pass of 
the river to an open space of three or four 
and five feet. These obstructions raised the 
water considerably above, which was some- 
times precipitated over in a fall ; and at other 
places, where this dam was too high, rushed 
through the contracted opening with tremen- 
dous violence. Had our boat been made of 
wood, in passing the narrows she would have 
been staved ; but her elasticity preserved her 
unhurt from every shock, and she seemed 
fairly to leap over the falls. 

In this way we passed three cataracts ia 
succession, where, perhaps 100 feet of smooth 
water intervened ; and, finally, with a shout 
of pleasure at our success, issued from our 
tunnel into the open day beyond. We were 
so delighted with the performance of our 
boat, and so confident in her powers, that we 
would not have hesitated to leap a fall often, 
feet with fier. We put to shore for break- 
fast at some willows on the right bank, im- 
mediately below the mouth of the caiion ; for 
it was now 8 o'clock, and we had been work- 
ing since daylight, and were all wet, fatigued, 
and hungry. While the men were prepar- 
ing breakfast, I went out to reconnoitre. The 
view was very limited. The course of the 
river was smooth, so far as I could see ; on 
both sides were broken hills ; and but a mile 
or two below was another high ridge. The 



1842.] 



CAPT. FREMOiNT'S NARRATIVE. 



49 



rock at the mouth of the canon was still the 
decomposing granite, with great quantities 
of mica, which made a very glittering sand. 
We re-embarked at 9 o'clock, and in about 
twenty minutes readied the next cainon. 
Landing on a rocky shore at its commence- 
ment, we ascended the ridge to reconnoitre. 
Portage was out of the question. So far as 
we could see, the jagged rocks pointed out 
the course of the cailon, on a winding line 
of seven or eight miles. It was simply a nar- 
row, dark chasm in the rock ; and here the 
perpendicular faces were much higher than 
in the previous pass, being at this end two 
to three hundred, and further down, as we 
afterwards ascertained, live hundred feet in 
vertical height. Our previous success had 
made us bold, and we determined again to 
run the caiion. Everything was secured as 
firmly as possible; and having divested our- 
selves of tlie greater part of our clothing, we 
pushed into the stream. To save our chro- 
nometer from accident, Mr. Preuss took it, 
and attempted to proceed along tiie shore on 
the masses of rock, which in places were 
piled up on either side ; but, after he had 
walked about five minutes, everything like 
shore disappeared, and the vertical wall 
came squarely down into the water. He 
therefore waited until we came up. An 
ugly pass lay before us. We had made fast 
to the stern of the boat a strong rope about 
fifty feet long ; and three of the men clam- 
bered along among the rocks, and with this 
rope let h(^ down slowly through the pass. 
In several places high rocks lay scattered 
about in the channel ; and in the narrows it 
required all our strength and skill to avoid 
staving the boat on the sharp points. In one 
of these, the boat proved a little too broad, 
and stuck fast for an instant, while the water 
flew over us ; fortunately, it was but for an 
instant, as our united strength forced her 
immediately through. The water swept 
overboard only a sextant and a pair of saddle- 
bags. I caught the sextant as it passed by 
me ; but the saddlebags became the prey of 
the whirlpools. ,We reached the place where 
Mr. Preuss was standing, took him on 
board, and, with the aid of the boat, put the 
men with tiie rope on the succeeding pile of 
rocks. We found this passage much worse 
than the previous one, and our position was 
rather a bad one. To go back, was impos- 
sible ; before us, the cataract was a sheet of 
foam; and shut up in the chasm by the 
rocks, which, in some places, seemed almost 
to meet overhead, the roar of the water was 
deafening. We pushed off again ; but, after 
making a little distance, the force of the cur- 
rent became too great for the men on shore, 
and two of them let go the rope. Lajeu- 
nesse, the third man, liung on, and was jerk- 
ed headforemost into the river from a rock 



about twelve feet high ; and down the boatshot 
like an arrow, Basil following us in the rapid 
current, and exerting all his strength to ke«p^ 
in mid channel — his head only seen occa- 
sionally like a black spot in the white foam. 
How far we went, I do not exactly know;, 
but we succeeded in turning the boat into an 
eddy below. '-'C?-^ Dieu" said Basil La- 
jeunesse, as he arrived immediately after us,, 
" Je crois bien que fai nagi iin demi mile.'* 
He had owed his lilie to his skill as a swim- 
mer, and I determined to take him and the 
two others on board, and trust to skill and 
fortune to reach the other end in safety. We 
placed ourselves on our knees, with the short 
paddles in our hands, the most skilful boat- 
man being at the bow ; and again we com- 
menced our rapid descent. We cleared 
rock after rock, and shot past fall after fall, 
our little boat seeming to play with the cata- 
ract. We became flushed with success, and 
familiar with the danger; and, yielding to 
the excitement of the occasion, broke forth 
together into a Canadian boat song. Sing- 
ing, or rather shouting, we dashed along; 
and were, I believe, in the midst of the cho- 
rus, when the boat struck a concealed rock 
immediately at the foot of a fall, which 
whirled her over in an instant. Three of 
my men could not swim, and my first feel- 
ing was to assist them, and save some of 
our effects ; but a sharp concussion or two 
convinced me that I had not yet saved my- 
self. A few strokes brought me into an 
eddy, and I landed on a pile of rocks on the 
left side. Looking around, I saw that Mr. 
Preuss had gained the shore on the same 
side, about twenty yards below ; and a little 
climbing and swimming soon brought him 
to my side. On the opposite side, against 
the wall, lay the boat bottom up ; and Lam- 
bert was in the act of saving Descoteaux, 
whom he had grasped by the hair, and 
who could not swim ; " Luche pas" said 
he, as I afterwards learned, " Idche. pas, cher 
frerey "Grains pas," was the reply, " Je 
m'era vais moiirir avani que de te Idcher" 
Such was the reply of courage and gene- 
rosity in this danger. For a hundred yards 
below the current was covered with floating 
books and boxes, bales of blankets, and scat- 
tered articles of clothing ; and so strong and 
boiling was the stream, that even our heavy 
instruments, which were all in cases, kept 
on the surface, and the sextant, circle, and 
the long black box of the telescope, were in 
view at once. For a moment, I felt some 
what disheartened. All our books-^almoet 
every record of the journey — our journals 
and regi.'^ters of astronomical and barometri- 
cal observations — had been lost in a moment. 
But it was no time to indulge in regrets j 
and I immediately set about endeavoring to 
save something from the wreck. Makiog 



60 



CAPT. FltEMONTS NARIL\TIVE. 



[1842. 



ourselves understood as well as possible by 
signs (lor nothing could be heard in the roar 
of waters), we commenced our operations. 
Of everything on board, the only article ti)at 
had been saved was my double barrelled gun. 
which Desc<:)teaux had cau^'ht, and clung to 
with drowning tenacity. Tiie men continu- 
ed down the river on the left bank. Mr. 
Preu&s and myself descended on the side we 
were on; and Lajeunesse, with a paddle in 
his hand, jiimped on the boat alone, and con- 
tinued down the caiion. She was now light, 
and cleared every bad place with much less 
difficulty. In a short time he was joined by 
Lambert, and the search was continued for 
about a mile and a half, which was as far as 
the boat could proceed in the pass. 

Here the walls were about live hundred 
f^ct higii, and the fragments of rocks from 
above had choked the river into a hollow 
pa?s, but one or two feet above the surface. 
Through this and the interstices of the rock, 
the water found its way. Favored beyond 
our e.xpectations, all of onr registers had 
been recovered, with the exception of one 
of my journals, which contained the notes 
and incidents of travel, and topographical 
descriptions, a number of scattered astrono- 
mical observations, principally meridian alti- 
tudes of the sun, aud our barometrical regis- 
ter west of Laramie. Fortunately, our 
other journals contained duplicates of the 
most important barometrical observations 
which had been taken in the mountains. 
These, with a few scattered notes, were ail 
that had been .preserved of our meteorologi- 
cal observations. In addition to these, we 
saved the circle ; and liiese, with a few 
blankets, constituted everything that had 
been rescued from tlie waters. 

The day was running rapidly away, and 
it was necessary to reach Goat island, whi- 
tlier the party had preceded us, before niglit. 
In this uncertain country, the traveller is so 
much in the power of chance, that we be- 
came somewhat uneasy in regard to them. 
Hhould anything have occurred, in the brief 
interval of our separation, to prevent our re- 
joining them, our situation would be rather 
a desperate one. We had not a morsel of 
provisions — our arms and ammunition were 
gone — and we were entirely at tlie mercy af 
any straggling party of savages, and not a 
litlle in danger of starvation. We therefore 
set out at once in two parties. Mr. Preuss 
and myself on the left, and the men on the 
opposite side of the river. Climbing out of 
the canon, we found ourselves in a very 
broken country, where we were not yet able 
to recognize any locality. In the course of 
our descent through the cauon, the rock, 
which at the upper end was of tiie decom- 
posing granite, changed into a varied sand- 
&toae formation. The bills and points of the 



ridges were covere<l with fragments of a 
yellow sandstone, of which the strata were 
sometimes displayed in the broken ravines 
which interrupted our course, and made our 
walk extremely fatiguing. At one point of 
the cafinn the red argillaceous sandstone 
rose in a wall of five hundred feet, surmount- 
ed by a etratum of white sandstone ; and in 
an opposite ravine a column of red sandstone 
rose, in form like a steeple, about one hundred 
and fifty feet high. The .scenery was extreme- 
ly picturesque, and notwithstanding our for- 
lorn condition, we were frequently obliged to 
stop and admire it. Our progress was not 
very rapid. We had emerged from the water 
half naked, and, on arriving at the top of the 
precipice, I found myself with only one moc- 
casin. The fragments of ruck made walk- 
ing painful, and I was frequently obliged to 
stop and pull out the tiionis of the cactus, 
here the prevailing pl.ant, and with which a 
few minutes' walk covered the bottom of my 
feet. From this ridge the river emerged 
into a smiling prairie, and, descending to t^e 
bank for water, we were joined by Benoist. 
The rest of the party were out of sight, 
having taken a more inland route. We 
crossed the river rejieatedly — sometimes 
able to ford it, and sometimes swim.ming — 
climbed over tlie ridges of two more canons, 
and towards evening reached the cut, which 
we here named the Hot Spring gate. On 
our previous visit in July, we had not enter- 
ed this pass, reserving it for our descent in 
the boat ; and when we entered it this even- 
ing, Mr. Preuss was a few hundred feet in 
advance. Heated witli the long march, he 
came suddenly upon a fine bold spring gush- 
ing from the rock, about ten feet above the 
river. Kagor to enjoy the crystal vv'ater, he 
threw himself down for a hasty draught, and 
took a mouthful of water almost boiling hot. 
He said nothing to Bonoist, who laid himself 
down to drink ; but the steam from the water 
arrested his earrerness, and he escaped the 
hot draught. We had no thermometer to 
ascertain the temperature, but 1 could hold 
my hand in the water just, long enough to 
count two seconds. There are eight or ten 
of these springs discharging themselves by 
streams large enough to be called runs. A 
loud hollow noise was heard from the rock, 
which I supposed to be produced by the fall 
of the water. The strata immediately where 
they issue is a tine white and calcareous 
sandstone, covered with an incrustation of 
common salt. Leaving this Thermopylae of 
the west, in a short walk v,e reached the red 
ridge which has been described as lying j6st 
above (Joat Island. Ascending this, we 
found some fresh tracks and a button, which 
showed that the other men had already ar- 
rived. A shout from the man who first 
reached the top of the ridge, responded to 



}842.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



51 



from below, informed us that our friendg were 
all on the island ; and Ave were soon among 
them. We found some pieces of buflalo 
standing around the fire for us, and managed 
to get some dry clothes among the jieople. 
A sudden storm of rain drove us into the 
beet shelter we could find, where we slept 
soundly, after one of the most fatiguing days 
I have ever experienced. 

August 25. — Early this morning Lajeu- 
nesse was sent to the wreck for the articles 
which had been saved, and about noon we 
left the island. Tiie mare which we had 
left here in July had much improved in con- 
dition, and she served us well again for some 
time, but was fina,lly abandoned at a subse- 
quent part of the journey. At 10 in the 
morning of the 26th we reached Cache 
camp, where we found everything undis- 
turbed. We disinterred our deposit, ar- 
ranged our carts wiiich had been leit here on 
the way out, and, travelling a few miles in 
the afternoon, encamped for tlie night at the 
ford of the Platte. 

August 27. — At midday we halted at the 
place where we had taken dinner on the 27lh 
of July. The country which, when we pass- 
ed up, looked as if the hard winter frosts 
had passed over it, had now assumed a new 
face, so much of vernal freshness had been 
given to it by the late rains. The Platte was 
exceedingly low — a mere line of water among 
the sandbars. We reached Laramie fort on 
the last day of August, after an absence of 
forty-two days, and had the pleasure to find 
our friends all well. The fortieth day had 
been fixed for our return ; and the quick eyes 
of the Indians, who were on the lookout for 
us, discovered our flag as we wound among 
the hills. The fort saluted us with repeated 
discharges of its single piece, which we re- 
turned with scattered volleys of our small 
arms, and felt the joy of a home reception in 
getting back to this remote station, which 
seemed so far off as we went out. 

On the morning of tlie 3d of September we 
bade adieu to our kind friends at the fort, 
and continued our homeward journey down 
the Platte, which was glorious with the au- 
tumnal splendor of innumerable flowers in 
full and brilliant bloom. On the warm sands, 
among the helianild, one of the characteristic 
plants, we saw great numbers of rattlesnakes, 
of which five or six were killed in the morn- 
ing's ride. We occupied ourselves in im- 
proving our previous survey of tiie river; 
and, as the weather was fine, astronomical 
observations were generally made at night 
and at noon. 

We halted for a short time on the after- 
noon of the 6th with a village of Sioux In- 
dians, some of whose chiefs we had met at 
Laramie. The water in the Platte was ex- 
tremely low ; in many places, the large ex- 



panse of sands, with some occasional stunted 
trees on the banks, gave it the air of the sea- 
coast; the bed of the river being merely a 
succession of sandbars, among which tlie 
channel was divided into rivulets a few inches 
deep. We crossed and recrossed with our 
carts repeatedly and at our pleasure ; and, 
whenever au obstruction barred our way, in 
the shape of precipitous bluffs that came 
down upon the river, we turned directly into 
it, and made our way along the sandy bed, 
with no other inconvenience than tiie fre- 
quent quicksands, which greatly fatigued our 
animals. Disinterring on the way the cache 
which had been made by our party when they 
ascended the river, we reached without ac- 
cident, en the evening of the 12th of Sep- 
tember, our old encampment of the 2d of July, 
at the junction of the forks. Our cache of 
the barrel of pork was found undisturbed, 
and proved a seasonable addition to our stock 
of provisions. At this place I had determin- 
ed to make another attempt to descend the 
Platte by water, and accordingly spent two 
days in the construction of a bull boat. Men 
were sent out on the evening of our arrival, 
the necessary number of'bulis killed, and 
their skins brought to the camp. Four of 
the best of them were strongly sewed to- 
gether with buffalo sinew, and stretched 
over a basket frame of willow. The seams 
were then covered with ashes and tallow, and 
the boat left exposed to the sun for the great- 
er part of one day, which was sufiicient to 
dry and contract the skin, and make the whole 
work solid and strong. It had a rounded 
bow, was eight feet long and five broad, and 
drew with four men about four inches water. 
On the morning of thg 16th we embarked in 
our hide boat, Mr. Preuss and myself, with 
two men. We dragged her over the sands 
for three or four miles, and then left her on 
a bar, and abandoned entirely all further at- 
tempts to navigate this river. The names 
given by the Indians are always remarkably 
appropriate ; and certainly none was ever 
more so than that which they have given to 
this stream — " the Nebra.ska, or Shallow 
river." Walking steadily the remainder of 
the day, a little before dark we overtook our 
people at their remaining camp, about twenty- 
one miles below the junction. The next 
morning we crossed the Platte, and continued 
our way down the river bottom on the left 
bank, v/here we found an excellent plainly 
beaten road. 

On the 18th we reached Grand Island,, 
which is fifty-tv/o miles long, with an ave- 
rage breadth of one mile and three-quarters. 
It has on it some small eminences, and is 
sufficiently elevated to be secure from the 
annual floods of the river. As has been 
already remarked, it is well timbered, with 
an excellent soil, and recommends itself to 



52 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1842. 



notice as the best point for a military position 
09 the Lower Platte. 

On the 22d we arrived at the village of 
the Grand I'awnees, on the right bank of tlie 
river, about thirty miles above the mouth of 
the Loup fork. They wore gathering in 
their corn, and wc obtained from them a very 
welcome supply of vegetables. 

The morning of the 21th we reached the 
Loup fork of the Platle. At the place where 
we forded it, this stream was four hundred 
and thirty yards broad, with a swift current 
of clear water ; in this respect, differing from 
the Platte, which has a yellow muddy color, 
derived from the limestone and marl form- 
ation, of which we have previously spoken. 
The ford was ditlicult, as tlie water was so 
deep that it came into the body of the carts, 
and we reached the opftosite bank after re- 
peated attempts, ascending and do:^c^nding 
the bed of the river in order to avail our- 
eelves of the bars. We encamped on the 
left bank of the fork, in the point of land at 
its junction v/ith the Platte. During the 
two days that we remained here for astro- 
nomical observations, the bad weather per- 
mitted us to obtain but one good observation 
for the latitude — a meridian altitude of the 
Bun, wbich gave for the latitude of the mouth 
of the Loup fork, 41° 22' 11". 

Five or six days previously, I had sent 
forward C. Lambert, witfi two men, to Belle- 
vue, with directions to ask from Mr. P. 
Sarpy, the gentleman in charge of the Ame- 
rican Company's establishment at that place, 
the aid of his carpenters in constructing a 
boat, in which I proposed to descend the 
Missouri. On the afternoon of the 27th we 
met one of the men, who had been despatch- 
ed by Mr. Sarpy with a welcome supply of 
provisions and a very kind note, which gave 
us the very gratifying intelligence that our 
boat was in rapid progress. On the evening 
of the .30th we encamped in an almost im- 
penetrable undergrowth on the left bank of 
the Platte, in the point of land at its conflu- 
ence with the Missouri — three hundred and 
fifteen miles, according to our reckoning, 
from the junction of the forks, and live hun- 
dred and twenty from Fort Laramie. 

From the junction we had found the bed 
of the Platte occupied with numerous islands, 
many of them very large, and all well tim- 



bered ; possessing, as well as the bottom 
lands of the river, a very excellent soil. 
With the exception of some scattered groves 
on the banks, the bottoms are generally 
without tim!)er. A portion of these consist 
of low grounds, covered with a profusion of 
tine grasses, and are probably inundated in 
the spring ; the remaining part is high river 
prairie, entirely beyond the influence of the 
floods. The breadth of the river is usually 
three-quarters of a mile, except where it is 
enlarged by islands. That portion of its 
course which is occupied by Grand island 
has an average breadth, from shore to shore, 
of two and a half miles. 

October 1. — I rose this morning long be- 
fore daylight, and heard with a feeling of 
pleasure the tinkling of cow-bells at the set- 
tlements on the opposite side of the Missouri. 
Early in the day wc reached Mr. Sarpy's 
residence ; and, in the security and comfort 
of his hospitable mansion, felt the pleasure 
of being again within the pale of civilisa- 
tion. We found our boat on the stock.s ; 
a few days sufficed to complete her ; and, in 
the afternoon of the 4th, we embarked on 
the Missouri. All our ecpiipage — horses, 
carts, and the materiel of the camp — hud 
been sold at public auction at Bellevue. 
The strength of my party enabled me to man 
the boat with ten oars, relieved every hour; 
and we descended rapidly. Early on the 
morning of the tenth, we halted to make 
some astronomical observations at the mouth 
of the Kansas, exactly four months since we 
had left the trading post of Mr. Cyprian 
Chouteau, on the same river, ten miles 
above. On our descent to this place, we 
had employed ourselves in surveying and 
sketching the Missouri, making astronomi- 
cal observations regularly at night and at 
midday, whenever 'the weather permitted. 
These operations on the river were conti- 
nued until our arrival at the city of St. Louis, 
Missouri, on the 17th. At St. Louis, the 
sale of our remaining effects was made ; 
and, leaving that city by steamboat on the 
13th, I had the honor to report to you at the 
city of Washington on the 29th of October. 

Very respectfully, sir. 

Your obedient servant, 

J. C. FREMONT, 
2d Lieut. Corps of Topog'l Engineers, 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



53 



ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS. 



The longitudes given in the subjoined table are referred to the meridian of Greenwich. 



For the determination of astronomical posi- 
tions, we were provided with the following iu- 
Btniinents : 
Oue telescope, magnifying power 120. 
One circle, by Gambey, Paris. 
One sextant, by Gambey, Paris. 
One sextant, by Troughton. 
One box chronometer, No. 7,810, by French. 
One Brockbank pocket chronometer. 
One small watch with a light chronometer bal- 
ance, No. 4,632, by Arnold & Dent. 
The rate of the chronometer 7,810, is exhibit- 
ed in the followuig statement : 

" New York, Maij 5, 1842. 
"Chronometer No. 7,810, by French, is this 
day at noon — 
" Sloio of Greenwich mean time 11' 4" 
" Fa^t of New York mean time 4A.45' 1" 
" Loses per day . . . ^"vo 

"ARTHUR STEWART, 

" 74 Merchants' Exchange." 



An accident among some rough ground in 
the neighborhood of the Kansas river, strainer! 
the balance of this chronometer, (No. 7,810,) 
and rendered it useless during the remainder of 
the campaign. From the Dlh of Juno to the 
24th of August, inclusively, the longitudes de- 
pend upon the Brockbank pocket chronometer ; 
the rate of wliich, on leaving St. Louis, was 
fourteen seconds. The rate obtained by obac-r- 
vations at Fort Laramie, 14".U5, liaa been used 
in calculation. 

From the 24th of August until the termina- 
tion of the journey, No. 4,632 (of which tlw 
rate was S5".79) was used for tlio same pur- 
poses. The rate of this watch was irregular, 
and I place but little confidence in the few 
longitudes which depend upon it, though, po far 
as wo have any means of judgmg, they appear 
tolerably correct. 



Table of latitudes and longitudes, deduced from observations made during 

t lie journey. 



Date. 


Station. 


Latitude. 


Longitude. 


1842. 




De£^, min 


sec. 


Deg. min. sec. 


May 27. 


St. Louis, residence of Colonel Brant - - - 


38 37 


34 




Juno 8 


Chouteau's lower trading post, Kansas river - 


39 05 


57 


94 25 4G 


IG 


Left bank of the Kansas river, seven miles above the 










ford 


39 06 


40 


95 38 05 


18 


Vermilion creek ...... 


39 15 


19 


86 04 OT 


19 


Cold Springs, near the road to Laramie 


39 30 


40 


96 14 49 


20 


Big Blue river -.--... 


39 45 


08 


96 32 35 


25 


Little Blue river ...... 


40 26 


50 


98 '22 12 


26 


Right bank of Platte river - . - - - 


40 41 


06 


98 45 49 


27 


Right bank of Platte river - - - . . 


40 39 


32 


99 05 24 


28 


Right bank of Platte river . . - - . 


40 39 


51 




30 


Right bank of Platte river . . - . - 


40 39 


55 


100 05 47 


July 2 


Junction of north and south forks of the Nebraska 










or Platte river ...... 


41 05 


05 


100 49 43 


4 


South fork of Platte river, left bank. 








6 


South fork of Platte river, island . - - - 


40 51 


17 


103 07 


7 


South fork of Platte river, left bank ... 


40 '53 


26 


103 30 37 


11 


South fork of Platte river, St. Vrain's fort 


40 22 


35 


105 12 12 


12 


Crow creek ....... 


40 41 


59 


104 57 49 


13 


On a stream, name unknown .... 


41 08 


30 


104 39 37 


14 


Horse creek, Goshen's hole? .... 


41 40 


13 


104 24 36 


16 


Fort Laramie, near the mouth of Laramie's fork - 


42 12 


10 


104 47 43 


23 


North fork of Platte river 


42 39 


25 


104 59 59 


24 


North fork of Platte river 


42 47 


40 




25 


North fork of Platte river. Dried Meat camp - 


42 51 


35 


105 50 45 


26 


North fork of Platte river, noon halt ... 


42 50 


08 




^6 


North fork of Platte river, mouth of Deer creek 


42 52 


24 


106 08 24 


28 


North fork of Platte river, Cache camp 


42 50 


53 


106 38 26 


^ 


North fork of Platte river, left bank - - - 


42 38 


01 


106 54 32 



64 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 
Table of latitudes and longitudes — Continued. 



[1842. 




1842. 
July 30 
Aug. 1 

4 

7 
8 



10 

15 

19 

19 

20 

£2 

22 

23 

30 

Sept. 3 

4 

5 

8 
9 
10 
16 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
20 
21 
23 
23 
25 
28 
29 
Oct. 2 



5 
6 
6 
8 
10 



North fork of Platte river, Goat island - - - 

Sweet Water river, one mile below Rock Indepen- 
dence ---.---. 

Sweet Water river ---... 

Sweet Water river ...... 

Little Sandy creek, tributary to the Colorado of the 
West 

New fork, tributary to the Colorado ... 

Mountain lake ....... 

Highest peak pf the Wind river mountains. 

tSwcct Water, neon halt . . . . . 

Sweet Water river ...... 

Sweet Water river --..-. 

Sweet Water river, noon halt . . . . 

Sweet Water river, at Rock Independence - 

North fork of Platte river, mouth of Sweet Water - 

Ilorse-shoe creek, noon halt . . . . 

North fork of Platte river, right bank - 

North fork of Platte river, near Scott's bluffs . 

North fork of Platte river, right bank, eix miles above 
Chimney rock ---... 

North fork of Platte river, mouth of Ash creek 

North fork of Platte river, right bank ... 

North fork of Platte river. Cedar blufls - 

Platte river, noon halt ..... 

Platte river, left bank ...... 

Platte river, left bank . - w . . . 

Platte river, loft bank ...... 

Platte river, left bank 

Platte river, noon halt, left bank .... 

Platte river, left bank ...... 

Platte river, left bank ...... 

Platte river, noon halt, left bank - - . - 

Platte river, left bank -.--.. 

Platte river, mouth of Ijoiip fork .... 

Platte river, mouth of Elk Horn river ... 

Platte river, left bank ...... 

Bellevue, at the post of the American Fur Company, 
right bank of the Missouri river ... 

Left bank of the Missouri, opposite to the right bank 
of the mouth of the Platte .... 

Missouri river ....... 

Bertholet's island, noon halt .... 

Missouri river, mouth of Nishnabatona river - 

Missouri river, left bank ..... 

Missouri river, mouth of the Kansas river 



Deg. min. sec. 

42 33 27 

42 29 56 

42 32 31 

42 27 15 

42 27 34 

42 42 46 

42 49 49 

42 24 32 

42 22 22 

42 31 46 

42 26 10 

42 29 36 

42 27 18 

42 24 34 

42 01 40 

41 54 38 

41 43 36 

41 17 19 

41 14 30 

41 10 16 

40 54 31 

40 52 34 

40 42 38 

40 40 21 

40 -39 4^4 

40 48 19 

40 54 02 

41 05 37 
41 20 20 
41 22 52 
41 22 11 
41 09 34 
41 02 15 

41 08 24 

41 02 11 

40 34 08 

40 27 08 

40 16 40 

39 36 02 

39 06 03 



Deg. min. tec. 

107 13 29 

107 25 23 

108 30 13 

109 21 32 

109 37 59 

109 58 11 

110 08 c:^, 



95 20 



A REPORT 



THE EXPLORING EXPEDITION 



OREGON AND NORTH CALIFORNIA, 



IN THE YEARS 1843-'44. 



Washington City, March 1, 1845. 
Colonel J. J. Abert, Chief of i he 
Corps of Topographical Engineers : 
Sir : — In pursuance of your instructions, 
to connect the reconnoissance of 1842, which 
I had the honor to conduct, with the surveys 
of Commander Wilkes on the coast of the 
Pacific ocean, so as to give a connected sur- 
vey of the interior of our continent, I pro- 
ceeded to the Great West early in the spring 
of 1S43, and arrived, on the 17ih of May, 
at the little town of Kansas, on the Mis- 
souri frontier, near the junction of the Kan- 
sas river with the Missouri river, where I 
was detained near two weeks in completing 
the necessary preparations for the exten(Jed 
explorations which my instructions contem- 
plated. 

My party consisted principally of Creole 
and Canadian French, and Americans, 
amounting in all to 39 men ; among wiiom 
you will recognise several of those who 
were with me in my first expedition, and 
who have been favorably brought to your 
notice in a former report. Mr. Thomas 
Fitzpatrick, whom many years of hardship 
and exposure in the western territories, had 
rendered familiar with a portion of the coun- 
try it was designed to explore, had been se- 
lected as our guide ; and Mr. Charles 
Preuss, who had been my assistant in the 
previous journey, was again associated with 
mo in the same capacity on the present ex- 
pedition. Agreeably to your directions, 
Mr. Theodore Talbot, of Washington city, 
bad been attached to the party, with a view 
•to advancement in his profession ; and at 
St. Louis I had been joined by Mr. Frede- 
rick Dwight, a gentleman of Springfield, 
Massachusetts, who availed himself of our 
overland journey, to visit the Sandwich 



Islands and China, by way of Fort Van- 
couver. 

The men engaged for the service v>-ere : 



Alexis Ayot, 
Fran^'ois Badeau, 
Oliver Beaulieu, 
Baptiste Bernier, 
John A. Campbell, 
John G. Campbell, 
Manuel Chapman, 
Ransom Clark, 
Philibert Courteau, 
Michel Cr( lis, 
William Cieuss, 
Clinton Deforest, 
Baptiste Derosier, 
Basil Lajeunesse, 



Louis M>!:nard, 
Louis Montreuil, 
Samuel Neal, 
Alexis Per a, 
Frangois Pera, 
James Power^ 
Raphael Proue, 
Oscar Sarpy, 
Baptiste Tabeau, 
Charles Taplin, 
Baptiste Tesson, 
Auguste Vasquex, 
Joseph Verrot, 
Patrick V/hite, 



Francois Lajeunesse, Tiery Wright, 
Henry Lee, Louis Zinde), and 

Jacob Dodson, a free young colored man of 
Washington city, w'ho volunteered to .ac- 
company the expedition, and performed his 
duty manfully throughout the voyage. Two 
Delaware Indians — a fine-looking old man 
and his son — were engaged to accompany 
the expedition as hunters, through the kind- 
ness of Major Cummins, the excellent In- 
dian agent. L. Maxwell, who had accom- 
panied the expedition as one of the hunters 
in 1842, being on his way to Taos, in Nev/ 
Mexico, also joined us at this place. 

The party was armed generally witii 
Hall's carbines, which, with a brass 12-lb. 
howitzer, had been furnished to me from the 
United States arsenal at St. Louis, agreea- 
bly to the orders of Colonel S. W. Kearney, 
commanding the 3l! military division. Three 
m^en were especially detailed for the man- 
agement of this piece, under the charge of 
Louis Zindel, a native of Germany, who had 
been 19 years a non-commissioned officer 



66 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1845. 



of artillery in the Prussian army, and regu- 
larly instructed in the duties of his profes- 
sion. The camp equipage and provisions 
were transported in twelve carts, drawn 
each by two mules ; and a light covered 
wagon, mounted on good springs, had been 
provided for the safer carriage of instru- 
ments. These were : 

One refracting telescope, by Frauenho- 
fer. 

One reflecting circle, by Gambey. 

Two sextants, by Troughton. 

One pocket chronometer, No. 837, by 
Goffe, Falmouth. 

One pocket chronometer, No. 739, by 
Brockbank. 

One syphon barometer, by Bunten, Paris. 

One cistern barometer, by Frye & Shaw, 
New York. 

Six thermometers, and a number of small 
compasses. 

To make the exploration as useful as pos- 
sible, I determined, in conformity to your 
general instructions, to vary the route to 
the Rocky mountains from that followed in 
the year 1842. The route was then up the 
valley of the Great Platte river to the South 
Pass, in north latitude 42^ ; the route now- 
determined on was up the valley of the 
Kansas river, and to the head of the Ar- 
kansas river, and to some pass in the moun- 
tains, if any could be found, at the sources 
of that river. 

By making this deviation from the former 
route, the problem of a new road to Oregon 
and California, in a climate more genial, 
might be solved ; and a better knowledge 
obtained of an important river, and the coun- 
try it drained, while the great object of the 
expedition would find its point of commence- 
ment at the termination of the former, which 
was at that great gate in the ridge of the 
Rocky mountains called the South Pass, 
and on the lofty peak of the mountain which 
overlooks it, deemed the highest peak in the 
ridge, and from the opposite sides of which 
four great rivers take their rise, and flow to 
the Pacific or the Mississippi. 

Various obstacles delayed our departure 
until the morning of the 29th, w-hen we com- 
menced our long voyage ; and at the close of a 
day, rendered disagreeably cold by incessant 
rain, encamped about four miles beyond the 
frontier, on the verge of the great prairies. 

Resuming our journey on the 3ist, after 
the delay of a day to complete our equip- 
ment and furnish ourselves with some of 
the comforts of civilized life, we encamped 
in the evening at Elm Grove, in company 
with several emigrant wagons, constituting 
a party which was proceeding to Upper Cal- 
ifornia, under the direction of Mr. J. B. 
Childs, of Missouri. The wagons were va- 
riously freighted with goods, furniture, and 



farming utensils, containing among otber 
things an entire set of machinery for a mill 
which Mr. Childs designed erecting on the 
waters of the Sacramento river emptying 
into the bay of San Francisco. 

We were joined here by Mr. William 
Gilpin, of Missouri, who, intending this 
year to visit the settlements in Oregon, had 
been invited to accompany us, and proved 
a useful and agreeable addition to the par- 
ty. From this encampment, our route un- 
til the 3d of June was nearly the same as 
that described to you in 1842. Trains of 
wagons were almost constantly in sight; 
giving to the road a populous and animated 
appearance, although the greater portion of 
the emigrants were collected at the cross- 
ing, or already on their march beyond the 
Kansas river. 

Leaving at the ford the usual emigrant 
road to the mountains, we continued our 
route along the southern side of the Kan- 
sas, where we found the country much more 
broken than on the northern side of tho 
liver, and where our progress was much 
delayed by the numerous small streams, 
which obliged us to make frequent bridges. 
On the morning of the 4th, we crossed a 
handsome stream, called by the Indians Ot- 
ter creek, about 130 feet wide, where a flak 
stratum of limestone, which forms the bed, 
made an excellent ford. We met here a 
small party of Kansas and Delaware In- 
dians, the latter returning from a hunting 
and trapping expedition on the upper waters 
of the river ; and on the heights above were 
five or six Kansas women, engaged in dig- 
ging prairie potatoes, {psoralen esculcnta.) 
On the afternoon of the 6th, w'hile busily 
engaged in crossing a wooded stream, we 
were thrown into a little confusion by the 
sudden arrival of Maxwell, who entered the 
camp at full speed at the head of a war 
party of Osage Indians, with gay red blank- 
ets, and heads shaved to the scalp lock. 
They had run him a distance of about niae 
miles, from a creek on which we had eiv- 
camped the day previous, and to which he 
had returned in search of a runaway horse 
belonging to Mr. Dv/ight, which had takeu 
the homeward road, carrying with him sad- 
dle, bridle, and holster pistols. The Osages 
were probably ignorant of our strength, and, 
when they charged into the camp, drove ofi" 
a number of our best horses ; but we wero 
fortunately well mounted, and, after a hard 
chase of seven or eight miles, succeeded in 
recovering them all. This accident, which 
occasioned delay and trouble, and threatened 
danger and loss, and broke down some good 
horses at the start, and actually endangered 
the expedition, was a first fruit of having 
gentlemen in company — very estimable, to 
be sure, but who are not trained to the care 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



57 



and vigilance and self-depsndence which 
such an expedition required, and who are 
not subject to the orders which enforce at- 
tention and exertion. We arrived on the 
8lh at lh6 mouth of the Smoky-hill fork, 
which is the principal southern branch of 
the Kansas ; ibnuing here, by its junction 
with the Republican, or northern branch, 
the main Kansas river. Neither stream 
was fordable, and the necessity of making 
a raft, together with bad weather, detained 
U8 here until the morning of the lllh; when 
we resumed our journey along the Republi- 
can fork. By our observations, the junc- 
tion of the streams is in latitude 39^ 03' 38", 
longitude 96° 24' 56", and at an elevation 
of 9i26 feet above the gulf of Mexico For 
several days we continued to travel along 
the Republican, through a country beauti- 
fully watered with numerous streams, hand- 
eomely timbered ; and rarely an incident 
■occurred to vary the monotonous resem- 
blance which one day on the prairies here 
bears to another, and which scarcely re- 
quire a particular description. Now and 
then, we caught a glimpse of a small herd 
of elk ; and occasionally a band of ante- 
lopes, whose curiosity sometimes brought 
them within rifle range, would circle round 
Ds, and then scour off into the prairies. 
As we advanced on our road, these became 
more frequent ; but as we journeyed on the 
line usually followed by the trapping and 
-hunting parlies of the Kansas and Dela- 
ware Indians, game of every kind continued 
very shy and wild. The bottoms which 
form the immediate valley of the main riv- 
-er were generally about three miles wide ; 
having a rich soil of black vegetable mould, 
and, for a prairie country, well interspersed 
with wood. The country was everywliere 
covered with a considerable variety of 
grasses, occasionally poor and thin, but far 
more frequently luxuriant and rich. We 
had been gradually and regularly ascending 
in our progress westward, and on the even- 
ing of the 14th, when we encamped on a 
little creek in the valley of the Republican, 
265 miles by our travelling road from the 
mouth of the Kansas, we were at an eleva- 
tion of 1,520 feet. That part of the river 
where we were now encamped is called by 
the Indians the Big Timber. Hitherto our 
route had been laborious and extremely 
slow, the unusually wet spring and constant 
rain having so saturated the whole country 
that it was necessary to bridge every water- 
course, and, for days together, our usual 
TOarch averaged only five or six miles. 
Finding that at such a rate of travel it 
would be impossible to comply with your 
instructions, 1 determined at this place to 
divide the party, and, leaving Mr. Filzpat- 
jcick with twenty-five men in charge of the 



provisions and heavier baggage of the camp, 
to proceed myself in advance, with a light 
party of fifteen men, taking with me the 
howitzer and the light wagon which carried 
the instruments. 

Accordingly, on the morning of the ICth, 
the parties separated ; and. bearing a little 
out from the river, with a view of heading 
some of the numerous affluents, after a fev/ 
hours' travel over somewhat broken ground, 
we entered upon an extensive and high level 
prairie, on which we encamped towards 
evening at a little stream, where a single 
dry cotton-wood afforded the necessary fuel 
for preparing supper. Among a variety of 
grasses which to-day made their first ap- 
pearance, T noticed bunch-grass, (festuca,) 
and buffalo-grass, {sesleria dactyloidcs.) 
Amorpha canescens (lead plant) continued 
the characteristic plant of the country, and 
a narrow-leaved lathyrus occurred during 
the morning in beautiful patches. Sida coc- 
cinea occurred frequently, with a psoralia 
near psoralia Jloribunda, and a number of 
plants not hitherto met, just verging into 
bloom. The water on which we had en- 
camped belonged to Solomon's fork of 
the Smoky-hill river, along whose trib- 
utaries we continued to travel for several 
days. 

The country afforded us an excellent 
road, the route being generally over high 
and very level prairies ; and we met with 
no other delay than being frequently obliged 
to bridge one of the numerous streams, 
which were well timbered with ash, elm, 
Cottonwood, and a very large oak — the lat- 
ter being occa-sionally five and six feet in 
diameter, with a spreading summit. Sida 
coccinea is very frequent in vermilion-col- 
ored patches on the high and low prairie ; 
and I remarked that it has a very pleasant 
perfume. 

The wild sensitive plant (schran/cia an- 
gustata) occurs frequently, generally on the 
dry prairies, in valleys of streams, and fre- 
quently on the broken prairie bank. I re- 
mark that the leaflets close instantly to a 
very light touch. Amorpha, with the same 
psoralea, and a dwarf species of lupinus, 
are the characteristic plants. 

On the 19th, in the afternoon, we crossed 
the Pawnee road to the Arkansas, and trav- 
elling a few miles onward, the monotony of 
the prairies was suddenly dispelled by the 
appearance of five or six bulfalu bulls, form- 
ing a vanguard of immense herds, among 
which we were travelling a few days after- 
wards. Prairie dogs were seen for the first 
time during the day ; and we had the good 
fortune to obtain an antelope for supi)er. 
Our elevation had now increased to 1,900 
feet. Sida coccinea was a characteristic on 
the creek bottoms, and buffalo grass is be- 



58 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[181S, 



coining abundant on the higher parts of the 
ridges. 

June 21. — During the forenoon we trav- 
elled up a branch of the creek on which 
we had encamped, in a broken country, 
where, however, the dividing ridges always 
afforded a good road. Plants were few ; 
and with tlie short sward of the buffalo 
grass, which now prevailed everywhere, 
giving to the prairies a smooth and mossy 
appearance, were mingled frequent patches 
of a beautiful red grass, {aristida pallens,) 
which had made its appearance only within 
the last few days. 

We halted to noon at a solitary cotton- 
wood in a hollow, near which was killed the 
first buffalo, a large old bull. * 

Antelope appeared in bands during the 
day. Crossing here to the affluents of the 
Republican, we encamped on a fork, about 
forty feet wide and one foot deep, flowing 
with a swift current over a sandy bed, and 
well wooded wilh ash-leaved maple, {ne- 
gu7ido fraxinifolium,) elm, cotton-wood, and 
a few white oaks. We were visited in the 
evening by a very violent storm, accompa- 
nied by wind, lightning, and thunder ; a cold 
rain falling in torrents. According to the 
barometer, our elevation was 2,130 feet 
above the gulf. 

At noon, on the 23d, we descended into 
the valley of a principal fork of the Re- 
publican, a beautiful stream with a dense 
border of wood, consisting principally of 
varieties of ash, forty feet wide and four 
feet deep. It was musical with the notes 
of many birds, which, from the vast expanse 
of silent prairie around, seemed all to have 
collected here. We continued during the 
afternoon our route along the river, which 
was populous with prairie dogs, (the bot- 
toms being entirely occupied with their vil- 
lages,) and late in the evening encamped on 
its banks. The prevailing timber is a blue- 
foliaged ash, (J'raxinus, near F. Ameri- 
cana,) and ash-leaved maple. With these 
^f,CTe fraxiiiu.'; Americana, cotton-wood, and 
long-leaved willow. We gave to this stream 
the name of Prairie Dog river. Elevation 
2,350 feet. Our road on the 25lh lay over 
iiigh smooth ridges, 3,100 feet above the 
sea ; buffalo in great numbers, absolutely 
covering the face of the country. At even- 
ing we encamped within a few miles of the 
main Republican, on a little creek, where 
X\\e air was fragrant with the perfume of 
artemisia filifolia, which we here saw for 
the first time, and which was now in bloom. 
Shortly after leaving our encampment on 
the 26th, we found suddenly that the nature 
of the country had entirely changed. Bare 
sand hills everywhere surrounded us in the 
undulating ground along which we v/ere 
moving ; and the plants peculiar to a sandy 



soil made their appearance in abundance. 
A few miles further we entered the valley 
of a large stream, afterwards known to be 
the Republican fork of the Kansas, whose 
shallow waters, with a depth of only a few 
inches, were spread out over a bed of yel- 
'lowish white sand 600 yards wide. With 
the exception of one or two distant and de- 
tached groves, no timber of any kind was 
to be seen ; and the features of the country 
assumed a desert character, with which the 
broad river, struggling for exi.?tence among 
quicksands along the treeless banks, was 
strikingly in keeping. On the opposite side, 
the broken ridges assumed almost a moun- 
tainous appearance ; and fording the stream, 
we continued on our course among these 
ridges, and encamped late in the evening at 
a little pond of very bad water, from which 
we drove away a herd of buffalo that were 
standing in and about it. Our encampment 
this evening was 3,500 feet above the sea. 
We travelled now for several days through 
a broken and dry sandy region, about 4,000 
feet above the sea, where there were no 
running streams ; and some anxiety was 
constantly felt on account of the uncertainty 
of water, which was only to be found in 
small lakes that occurred occasionally among 
the hills. The discovery of these always 
brought pleasure to the camp, as around 
them were generally green flats, which af- 
forded abundant pasturage for our animals ; 
and here were usually collected herds of the 
buffalo, which now were scattered over all 
the country in countless numbers. 

The soil of bare and hot sands supported 
a varied and exuberant growth of plants, . 
which were much farther advanced than we 
had previously found them, and v.hose showy 
bloom somewhat relieved the appearance of 
general sterility. Crossing the summit of an 
elevated and continuous range of rolling 
hills, on the afternoon of the 30th of June, 
we found ourselves overlooking a broad and 
misty valley, where, about ten miles distant, 
and 1,000 feet below us, the South fork of 
the Platte was rolling magnificently along, 
swollen with the waters of the melting 
snows. It was in strong and refreshing 
contrast with the parched country from 
which we had just issued ; and when, at 
night, the broad expanse of water grew in- 
distinct, it almost seemed that we had 
pitched our tents on the shore of the 
sea. 

Travelling along up the valley of the 
river, here 4,000 feet above the sea, in the 
afternoon of July 1, we caught a far and 
uncertain view of a faint blue mass in the 
west, as the sun sank behind it ; and from , 
our camp in the morning, at the mouth of 
Bijou, Long's peak and the neighboring 
mountains stood out into the sky, grand aad 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE}. 



59 



luminously white, covered to their bases 
•with glittering snow. 

'On the evening of the 3d, as we were 
journeying aiong the partially overSowed 
bottoms of the Platte, where our passage 
stirred up swarms of mosquitoes, we came 
unexpectedly on an Indian, who was 
perched upon a bluff, curiously watching the 
■movements of our caravan. He belonged 
to a village of Oglallah Sioux, who had lost 
all their animals in the severity of the pre- 
ceding winter, and were now on their way 
'up the Bijou fork to beg horses from the 
Arapahoes, who were hunting buffalo at the 
'bead of that river. Several came into our 
Caimp at noon ; and, as they were hungry, as 
tlSUail) they wiere provided with buffalo meat, 
of which the hunters had brought in an 
abundant supply. 

About noon, on tKe 4th of July, we ar- 
rived at the fort, where lyir. St. Vrain re- 
•ceived us with his customary kindness, and 
invited us to join him in a feast which had 
been prepared in honor of the day. 

Our animals were very much worn out, 
and our stock of provisions entirely ex- 
hausted when we arrived at the fort ; but I 
was disappointed in my hope of obtaining 
i«Iief, as I found it in a very impoverished 
condition ; and we were able to procure on- 
ly a little unbolted Mexican flour, and some 
gait, with a few pounds of powder and lead. 

As regarded provisions, it did not much 
matter in a country where rarely the day 
passed without seeing some kind of game, 
and where it was frequently abundant. It 
.was a rare thing to lie down hungry, and 
we had already learned to think bread a 
luxury ; but we could not proceed without 
animals, and our own were not capable of 
prosecuting the journey beyond the moun- 
tains without relief. 

1 had been informed that a large number 
of mules had recently arrived at Taos, from 
Upper California; and as our friend, Mr. 
Maxwell, was about to continue his journey 
to that place, where a portion of his family 
resided, I engaged him to purchase for me 
10 or 12 mules, with the understanding that 
he should pack them with provisions and 
.other necessaries, and meet me at the mouth 
x)f the Foiitaine-tjui-bouit, on the Arkansas 
river, to which point I would be led in the 
course of the survey. 

Agreeably to his own request, and in the 
conviction that his habits of life and educa- 
tion had not qualified him to endure the hard 
life of a vuyageur, I discharged here one of 
my parly, Mr. Oscar Sarpy, having furnished 
him with arms and means of transportation 
to Fort Lararnie, where he would be in the 
line of caravans returning to the States. 

At daybreak, on the 6th of July, Maxwell 
was on his way to Taos ; and a lew hours 



after we also had recommenced our journsy 
up the Plalte, which v/as continuously tim- 
bered with cotton-wood and willow, on a 
generally sandy soil. Passing on the way 
the remains of two abandoned forts, (one of 
which, however, was still in good condition,) 
we reached, in 10 miles, Fort Lancaster, 
tl.'e trading establishment of Mr. Lupton. 
His post was beginning to assume the ap- 
pearance of a comfortable farm : stock, hogs, 
and cattle, were ranging about on the prai- 
rie ; there were diiferent kinds of poultry ; 
and there was the wreck of a promising 
garden, in which a considerable variety of 
vegetables had been in a flourishing condi- 
tion, but it had been almost entirely ruined 
by the recent high waters. I remained to 
spend with him an agreeable hour, and set 
off in a cold storm of rain, which was ac- 
companied with violent thunder and light- 
ning. We encamped immediately on the 
river, 16 miles from St. Vrain's. SeverRl 
Arapahoes, on their way to the village 
which was encamped a few miles above us, 
passed by the camp in the course of the 
afternoon. Night set in stormy and cold, 
with heavy and continuous ram, which lasted 
until morning. 

July 7. — We made this morning an early- 
start, continuing to travel up the Platte ; 
and in a few miles frequent bands of horses 
and mules, scattered for several miles round 
about, indicated our approach to the Arapaho 
village, which we found encamped in a beau- 
tiful bottom, and consisting of about 160 
lodges. It appeared extremely populous, 
with a great number of children ; a circum- 
stance which indicated a regular supply of 
the means of subsistence. The chiefs, who 
were gathered together at the further end of 
the village, received us (as probably stran- 
gers are always received to whom they desire 
to show respect or regard) by throwing their 
arms around our necks and embracing us. 

It required some skill in horsemanship to 
keep the saddle during the performance of 
this ceremony, as our American horses ex- 
hibited for them the same fear they have for 
a oear or any other wild animal. Having 
very few goods with me, I was only able 
to make them a meager present, accounting 
for the poverty of the gift by explaining that 
my goods had been left with the wagons in 
charge of Mr. Fitzpatrick, who was well 
known to them as the White Head, or the 
Broken Hand. I saw here, as I had re- 
marked in an Arapaho village the preceding 
year, near the lodges of the chiefs, tall tri- 
pods of white poles suppoiting their speara 
and shields, which shov.cd it to be a regular 
custom. 

Though disappointed in obtaining Ihs 
presents which had been evidently expected, 
they behaved very courteously, and, afltr 



60 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



a little conversation, I left them, and, con- 
tinuing on up the river, halted to noon on 
the bluff, as the bottoms are almost inunda- 
ted ; continuing in the afternoon our route 
along the mountains, which were dark, 
misty, and shrouded — threatening a storm ; 
the snow peaks sometimes glittering through 
the clouds beyond the first ridge. 

We surprised a grizzly bear sauntering 
along the river ; which, raising himself upon 
his hind legs, took a deliberate survey of us, 
that did not appear very satisfactory to him, 
and 'he scrambled into the river and swam 
to the opposite side. We halted for the 
■night a little above Cherry creek ; the even- 
ing cloudy, with many mosquitoes. Some 
indifTerent observations placed the camp in 
latitude 39° 43' 53", and chronometric lon- 
gitude 105° 24' 34". 

July 8. — We continued to-day to travel 
up the Platte ; the morning pleasant, with a 
prospect of fairer weather. During the fore- 
noon our way lay over a more broken coun- 
try, with a gravelly and sandy surface ; al- 
though the immediate bottom of the river 
■was a good soil, of a dark sandy mould, rest- 
ing upon a stratum of large pebbles, or rolled 
stones, as at Laramie fork. On our right, 
and apparently very near, but probably 8 or 
10 miles distant, and two or three thousand 
feet above us, ran the first range of the 
mountains, like a dark corniced line, in clear 
contrast with the great snowy chain which, 
immediately beyond, rose glittering five 
thousand feet above them. We caught this 
morning a view of Pike's peak ; but it ap- 
peared for a moment only, as clouds rose 
early over the mountains, and shrouded them 
in mist and rain all the day. In the first 
range were visible, as at the Red Buttes on 
the North fork, very lofty escarpments of 
red rock. While travelling through this 
region, I remarked that always in the morn- 
ing the lofty peaks were visible and bright, 
but very soon small white clouds began to 
settle around them — brewing thicker and 
darker as the day advanced, until the after- 
noon, when the thunder began to roll ; and 
invariably at evening wc had more or less 
of a thunder storm. At 11 o'clock, and 21 
miles from St. Vrain's fort, we reached a 
point in this southern fork of the Platte, 
where the stream is divided into three forks ; 
two of these (one of them being much the 
largest) issuing directly from the mountains 
on the west, and forming, with the eastern- 
most branch, a river of the plains. The 
elevation of this point is about 5,500 feel 
above the sea ; this river falling 2,800 feet 
in a distance of 316 miles, to its junction 
with the North fork of the Platte. In this 
estimate, tiie elevation of the junction is 
assumed as given by our barometrical ob- 
servations in 1842. 



On the easternmost branch, up which we 
took our way, we first came among the 
pines growing on the top of a very high: 
bank, and where we halted on it to noon; 
quaking asp (poptdus trcmuloides) was 
mixed with the cotton-wood, and there were 
excellent grass and rushes for the animals. 

During the morning there occurred many 
beautiful flowers, which we had not hitherto 
met. Among them, the common blue flower- 
ing flax made its first appearance ; and a tall- 
and handsome species of gilia, with slender 
scarlet flowers, which appeared yesterday 
for the first time, was very frequent to-day. 

We had found very little game since 
leaving the fort, and provisions began to get 
unpleasantly scant, as we had had no meat 
for several days ; but towards sundown, 
when we had already made up our minds to 
sleep another night without supper, La- 
jeunesse had the good fortune to kill a fine 
deer, which he found feeding in a hollovj- 
near by ; and as the rain began to fall, 
threatening an unpleasant night, we hurried 
to secure a comfortable camp in the limber. 

To-night the camp fires, girdled with ap- 
polas of fine venison, looked cheerful in 
spite of the stormy weather. 

July 9. — On account of the low state of 
our provisions and the scarcity of game, I 
determined to vary our route, and proceed 
several camps to the eastward, in the hope 
of falling in with the buffalo. This route 
along the dividing grounds between the 
South fork of the Platte and the Arkansas, 
would also afford some additional geograph- 
ical information. This morning, therefore, 
wc turned to the eastward, along the upper 
waters of the stream on which we had en- 
camped, entering a country of picturesque 
and varied scenery ; broken into rocky hilla 
of singular shapes ; little valleys, with pure 
crystal water, here leaping swiftly along, 
and there losing itself in the sands ; green 
spots of luxuriant grass, flowers of all colors, 
and timber of different kinds — every thing 
to give it a varied beauty, except game. To 
one of these remarkably shaped hills, hav- 
ing on the summit a circular flat rock two 
or three hundred yards in circumference, 
some one gave the name of Poundcake, 
which it has been permitted to retain, as our 
hungry people seemed to think it a very 
agreeable comparison. In the afternoon a 
buffalo bull was killed, and we encamped on 
a small stream, near the road which ruus 
from St. Vrain's fort to the Arkansas. 

Julif 10. — Snow fell heavily on the moun- 
tains during the night, and Pike's peak this 
morning is luminous and grand, covered 
from the summit, as low down as we can 
see, with glittering white. Leaving iho 
encampment at 6 o'clock, we continued our 
eafiterly course over a lolliog country, naar 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



6J 



to the high ridges, which are generally 
rough and rocky, with a coarse conglomerate 
displayed in nnasses, and covered with pines. 
This rock is very friable, and it is undoubt- 
edly from its decomposition that the prairies 
derive their sandy and gravelly formation. 
In 6 miles we crossed a head water of the 
Kioway river, on which we found a strong 
fort and coral that had been built in the 
spring, and halted to noon on the principal 
branch of tiie river. During the morning 
our route led over a dark vegetable mould, 
mixed with sand and gravel, the character- 
istic plant being esparceLte, {onobrychis sali- 
va,) a species of clover which is much used 
in certain parts of Germany for pasturage 
of stock — principally hogs. It is sown on 
rocky waste ground, which would otherwise 
be useless, and grows very luxuriantly, re- 
quiring only a renewal of the seed about 
once in fifteen years. Its abundance here 
gieatly adds to the pastoral value of this re- 
gion. A species of antennaria in flower 
was very common along the line of road, 
and the creeks were timbered with willow 
and pine. We encamped on Bijou's fork, 
the water of which, unlike the clear streams 
we had previously crossed, is of a whitish 
color, and the soil of the bottom a very 
hard, tough clay. There was a prairie dog 
village on the bottom, and, in the endeavor 
to unearth one of the little animals, we la- 
bored ineffectually in the (ough clay until 
dark. Alter descending, with a slight in- 
clination, until it had gone the depth of two 
feet, the hole suddenly turned at a sharp 
angle in another direction for one more foot 
in depth, when it again turned, taking an 
ascending direction to the next nearest hole. 
I have no doubt that all their little habita- 
tions communicate with each other. The 
greater part of the people were sick to-day, 
and I was inclined to attribute their indis- 
position to the meat of the bull which had 
been killed the previous day. 

July 11. — There were no indications of 
buffalo having been recently in the neigh- 
borhood ; and, unwilling to travel farther 
eastward, I turned this morning to the 
southward, up the valley of Bijou. E.ipar- 
cette occurred universally, and among the 
plants on the river I noticed, for the first 
time during this journey, a few small bushes 
of the absinthe of the voyageurs, which is 
commonly used for fire-wood, {artemisia 
tridentata.) Yesterday and to-day the road 
has been ornamented with the showy bloom 
of a beautiful tupinus, a characteristic in 
many parts of the mountain region, on 
which were generally great numbers of an 
insect with very bright colors, {litta vesica- 
toria.) 

As we were riding quietly along, eagerly 
searching every hollow in search of game, 



we discovered, at a little distance in the 
prairie, a large grizzly bear, so busily en- 
gaged in digging roots that he did not per- 
ceive us until we were galloping down a 
little hill fifty yards from him, when he 
charged upon us. with such sudden energy, 
that several of us came near losing our sad- 
dles. Being wounded, he commenced re- 
treating to a rocky piny ridge near by, 
from which we were not able to cut him off, 
and we entered the timber with him. The 
way was very much blocked up with fallen 
timber ; and we kept up a running fight for 
some time, animated by the bear charging 
among the horses. He did not fall until 
after he had received six rifle balls. Ho 
was miserably poor, and added nothing to 
our stock of provisions. 

We followed the stream to its head in a 
broken ridge, which, according to the ba- 
rometer, was about 7,500 feet above tlio 
sea. This is a piny elevation, into which 
the prairies are gathered, and from which 
the waters flow, in almost every direction, 
to the Arkansas, Platte, and Kansas rivers ; 
the latter stream having here its remotest 
sources. Although somewhat rocky and 
broken, and covered with pines, in compari- 
son with the neighboring mountains, it 
scarcely forms an interruption to the great 
prairie plains which sweep up to their bases. 

We had an excellent view of Pike's peak 
from this camp, at the distance of 40 miles. 
This mountain barrier presents itself to 
travellers on the plains, which sweep almost 
directly to its bases — an immense and com- 
paratively smooth and grassy prairie, in 
very strong contrast with the black masses 
of timber, and the glittering snow above 
them. With occasional exceptions, com- 
paratively so very small as not to require 
mention, these prairies are everywhere cov- 
ered with a close and vigorous growth of a 
great variety of grasses, among which the 
most abundant is the buffalo grass, {sesleria 
daclyloides.) Between the Platte and Ar- 
kansas rivers, that part of this region which 
forms the basin drained by the waters of the 
Kansas, with which our operations made us 
more particularly acquainted, is based upon 
a formation of calcareous rocks. The soil 
of all this country is excellent, admirably 
adapted to agricultural purposes, and would 
support a large agricultural and pastoral 
population. A glance at the map, along our 
several lines of travel, will show you that 
this plain is watered by many streams. 
Throughout the western half of the plain, 
these are shallow, with sandy beds, be- 
coming deeper as they reach the richer 
lands approaching the Missouri river ; they 
generally have bottom lands, bordered by 
bluffs varying from 50 to 500 feet in height, 
la all this region the timber is entirely coa- 



62 



CAPT, FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



finpd to the streams. In the eastern half, 
wliere the soil is a deep, rich, vegetable 
mould, retentive of rain and moisture, it is 
of vigorous growth, and of many different 
Icinds ; and throughout the western half it 
couBisls entirely of various species of cot- 
ton-v.ood, which deserves to he called tlie 
tree of the desert — growing in sandy soils, 
where no otlier tree will grow; pointing out 
the existence of water, and furnishing to the 
traveller fuel, and food for his animals. Add 
to this, that the western border of the plain 
is occupied by the Sioux,. Arapaho, and 
Cheyenne nations, and the Pawnees and 
other half-civilized tribes in its eastern 
limits, for whom the intermediate country 
in a war-ground, you will have a tolerably 
correct idea of the ajipearance and condition 
of the country. Descending a somewhat 
precipitous and rooky hillside among the 
pines, which rarely appear elsewhere than 
on the ridge, we encamped at its foot, where 
there were several springs, which yon will 
find laid down ufK)n the map as one of the 
extreme sources of the Smoky Hill fork of 
the Kansas. From this place the view ex- 
tended over the Arkansas valley, and the 
Spanish peaks in the south beyond. As the 
greater part of the men continued sick, I 
encamped here for the day, and ascertained 
conclusively, fiom experiments on myself, 
that their illness was caused by the meat 
of the buffiUo bull. 

On the summit of the ridge, near the 
camp, were several rock-built forts, which 
in front were very difficult of approach, and 
in the rear v\ere protected by a precipice 
entirely beyond the reach of a rifle ball. 
The evening was tolerably clear, with a 
temperature at sunset of 03°. Elevation 
of the camp 7.300 feet. 

Turning the next day to the southwest, 
we readied, in the course of the morning, 
the wagon road to the settlements on the 
Arkansas river, and encamped in the after- 
noon on the Fontavie-qm-dcniit (or Boiling 
Spring) river, where it was 50 feet wide, 
with a swift current. I afterwards found 
that the ."-pring and river owe their names 
to the bubbling of the efl'ervescing gas in 
the former, and not to the temperature of 
the water, v/hich is cold. Durmg the morn- 
.ing a tall species of g^ilia, with a slender 
white flower, was characteristic ; and, in 
the latter part of the day, another variety 
of esparcette, (wild clover,) iiaving the 
flower wliile, was equally so. We iiad a 
fine sunset of golden brown ; and, in the 
evening, a very bright moon, with the near 
mountains, made a bcaulifiil scene. Ther- 
rQs.)nieter, at sunset, was 6!P, and our eleva- 
tion above l;ie sea 5,800 feet. 

Jtdi/ 13. — Tlie morning was clear, with 
a nortliwesteriy bresze, and the thermome- 



ter at sunrise at 46^. There were no clouds 
along the mountains, and the morning sun 
showed very clearly their rugged charac- 
ter. 

We resumed our journey very early down 
the river, fallowing an extremely gond lodge 
trail, which issues by the head of lliis stream 
from the bayou Sulade, a high mountain 
valley behind Pike's peak. The soil along 
the road was snndy and gravelly, and the 
river well ti.'nhored. We halted to noon 
under the shade of some fine.large cotton- 
woods, our animals luxuriating on rushes, 
{eguisetum hyaiiah,) which, along this riv- 
er, were remarkably abundant. A variety 
of cactus made its appearance, and among 
several strange plants were numerous and 
beautiful cluster.? of a plant resembling mi- 
ralnlis jalapOy with a handsome convolvulus 
1 had not hitherto seen, {calystegia.) In 
the afternoon we passed near the encamp- 
ment of a hunter named Maurice, who had 
been out into the plains in pursuit of buffalo 
calves, a number of which I saw among 
some domestic cattle near his lodge. Short- 
ly afterwards, a party of mountaineers gal- 
loped up to us — hue-looking and hardy men, 
dressed in skins and mounted on good fat 
horses; among thern were several Connec- 
ticut men, a portion of Wyeth's party, whom 
I had seen the year before, and others were 
men from the western states. 

Continuing down the river, we encamped 
at noon on the 14th at its mouth, on the 
Arkansas river. A short distance above 
our encampment, on the left bank of the 
Arkansas, is ^ piieblo, (as the Mexicans call 
their civilized Indian villages,) where a 
number of mountaineers, who had married 
Spanish women in the valley of Taos, had 
collected together, and occupied themselves 
in farming, carrying on at the same lime a 
desultory Indian trade. They were princi- 
pally Americans, and treated us with all the 
rude hospitality their situation admitted ; 
but as all commercial intercoiuse with New 
Mexico was now interrupted, in consequence 
of Mexican decrees to that eflecl, there wp.a 
notiiing to be had in the way of i)rovisions. 
They had, however, a fine stock of cattle, 
and furnished us an abundance of excellent 
milk. I learned here that Maxwell, in 
company with two other men, had started 
for Taos on the morning of the 9th, but 
that he would probably fall into the hands 
of the Utah Indians, commonly cabled the 
Spanish Yules. As Maxwell liad no knowl- 
edge of their being in the vicinity when he 
crossed the Arkansas, his chance ol' escape 
was very doubtful ; but I did not enteilain 
much appreheiLsion for his hie, having great 
confidence in his prudence and com age. I 
was further informed that there had been a 
popular tumult among the pueblos, or civil- 



1643.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



63 



ized Indians, residing near Tios, against 
the '■^foreigners''' of that place, in which 
they had plundered their houses and ill- 
treated their families. Among those whose 
property had been destroyed, was Mr. Beau- 
bien, father-in-law of Maxwell, from whom 
I had expected to obtain supplies, and who 
had been obliged to make his escape to 
Santa Fe. 

By this position of affairs, our expecta- 
tion of obtaining supplies from Taos was 
cut off. I had here the satisfaction to meet 
our good buffalo hunter of 1842, Christo- 
pher Carson, whose services I considered 
myself fortunate to secure again ; and as a 
reinforcement of mules was ab.solutely ne- 
cessary, I dispatched hirn immediately, with 
an account of our necessities, to Mr. Chaj les 
Bcn.t, whose principal post is on the Arkan- 
sas river, about 75 miles below Fon/aine- 
qui-bouit. He was directed to proceed 
from that post by the nearest route across 
the country, and meet me with what ani- 
mals he .should be able to obtain at St. 
V rain's fort. I also admitted into the party 
Charles Towns, a native of St. Louis, a 
serviceable rnan, with many of the qualities 
of a good voyageur. According to our ob- 
servations, the latitude of the mouth of the 
river is S80 15' 23"; its longitude lO-lo 58' 
30" ; and its elevation above the eea 4,880 
feet. 

On the morning of the 16th, the time for 
Maxwell's arrival having expired, we re- 
sumed our journey, leaving for him a note, 
in which it was stated that I would wait for 
him at St. Vrain's fort until the morning of 
the 26th, in the event that he should suc- 
ceed in his commission. Our direction was 
up the Boiling Spring river, it being my in- 
tention to visit the celebrated springs from 
which the river takes its name, and which 
are on its upper waters, at the foot of Pike's 
peak. Our animals fared well while we 
were on this stream, there being every- 
where a great abundance of prile. Ipomea 
leptophylla, in bloom, was a characteristic 
plant along the river, generally in large 
bunches, with two to five flowers on each. 
33eautiful clusters of the plant resembling 
mirabilis jalapa were numerous, and gly- 
cyrrhiza lepidola was a characteristic of 
the bottoms. Currants nearly ripe were 
abundant, and among the shrubs which cov- 
ered the bottom was a very luxuriant growth 
of chenopodiaceous shrubs, four to six feet 
high. 

On the afternoon of the 17th we entered 
among the broken ridges at the foot of the 
mountains, where the river made several 
forks. Leaving the camp to follow slowly, 
I rode ahead in the afternoon in search of 
the springs. In the mean time, the clouds, 
which had been gathered all the afternoon j 



over the mountains, began to roll do^^-nytheir 
sides ; and a storm so violent burst upon 
me, that it appeared I had entered the store- 
house of the thunder storms. I continued, 
however, to ride along up the river until 
about sunset, and was beginning to be doubt- 
ful of finding the springs before the next 
day, when I came suddenly upon a large 
smooth rock about twenty yards in diame- 
ter, where the water from several springs 
was bubbling and boiling up in the midst of 
a white incrustation with which it had cov- 
ered a portion of the rock. As this did not 
correspond with a description given me by 
the hunters, I did not stop to taste the wa- 
ter, but, dismounting, walked a little way up 
the river, and, passing through a narrow 
thicket of shrubbery bordering the stream, 
stepped directly upon a huge white rock, at 
the foot of which the river, already become 
a torrent, foaro.ed along, broken by a snaall 
fall. A doer which had been drinking a: 
the spring was startled by my approaeli, 
and, springing across the river, bounded off 
up the mountain. In the upper part of tl;e 
rock, which had apparently been formed by 
deposition, was a beautiful white basin, over- 
hung by currant bashes, in which the cold 
clear water bubbled up, kept in con.'Jtant 
motion by the escaping gas, and overflow- 
ing the rock, which it had almost entirely 
covered with a smooth crust of glistening' 
white. I had all day refrained from drink- 
ing, reserving myself for the spring ; and 
as I could not well be more wet than the 
rain had already made me, I lay down by 
the side of the ba.sin, and drank heartily of 
the delightful water. The spring is situ- 
ated immediately at the foot of lofty moun- 
tains, beautifully timbered, which sweep 
closely round, shutting up the little valley 
in a kind of cove. As it was beginning to 
grow dark, I rode quickly down the river, 
on which I found the camp a few mile:;^ 
below. 

The morning of the 18th was beautiful 
and clear, and, all the people being anxious 
to drink of these famous waters, we en- 
camped immediately at the springs, and 
spent there a very pleasant day. On thfi 
opposite side of the river is another locality 
of springs, which are entirely of the same 
nature. The water has a very agreeable 
taste, which Mr. Preuss found very much 
to resemble that of the famous Seller springs 
in the grand duchy of Nassau, a country fa- 
mous for wine and mineral waters ; and it 
is almost entirely of the same character, 
though still more agreeable than that of the 
famous Bear springs, near Bear river of the 
Great Salt lake. The following is an an- 
alysis of an incrustation with which the wa- 
ter had covered a piece of wood lying on 
the rock : 



64 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



ri843. 



Carbonate of lime . . 


. 92.25 


Caib()n;ito of magnesia . . 


. 1.21 


Sulpliiiti; of lime ^ 




Cliloiide of calcium > 


.23 


Clil()ri<lc of magnesia y 




Silica 


. 1.50 


'Veirt^vMe matter . . . 


.20 


Moisture and loss . . . 


. 4.GI 



100.00 

At 11 o'clock, when the temperature of the 
a;r was 73^^, tliat of the water in this was 
(50.5^; and that of the upper spring, which 
issued from the flat rock, more exposed 
to ilie sun, was 69°. At sunset, when the 
temperature of the air was 6G^, that of 
the lower springs was 58°, and that of the 
uppnrGl'^. 

Jubj 19. — A beautiful and clear moriiing, 
with a slight breeze from the northwest; the 
temperatureof theair at sunrise being 57.5°. 
At this time the temperature of the lower 
spring was 57. 80, and that of the upper 54. 3°. 

The trees in the neighborhood were birch, 
willow, pine, and an oak resembling qtter- 
cus alba. In the shrubbery along the river 
are currant bushes, {ribes,) of which the 
fruit has a singular piny flavor ; and on the 
mountain side, in a red gravelly soil, is a 
TPniarkuble coniferous tree, (perhaps an 
abies,) having the leaves singularly long, 
b.oul, and scattered, with bushes of spiraa 
arirrfolia. By our observations, this place 
is 6.350 feet above the sea, in latitude 38° 
62' 10", and longitude 105° 22' 45" 

Resuming our journey on this morning, 
we descended the river, in order to reach 
Ih.e mouth of the eastern fork, which I pro- 
posed to ascend. I'he left bank of the river 
here is very much brtdien. There is a hand- 
goirie little bottom on the right, and both 
banks are exceedingly picturesque — strata 
of ie<l rock, in nearly perpendicular walls, 
crossing the valley from nojth to south. 
Ahout three miles below the springs, on the 
riL'ht bank of liie river, is a nearly perpen- 
dicular limestone rock, presenting a uni- 
formly unbroken surface, twenty to forty 
feet high, containing very great numbers of 
a large univalve stiell, which appears to be- 
long to the genus inoceramus. 

In contact with this, to the westward, 
was another stratum of limestone, contain- 
ing fossil shells of a ditTerent character; 
an I still higher up on the stream were par- 
allel strati, consisting of a compact some- 
wliit crystalline limestone, and argillaceous 
hituinnious limestone in thin layers. Dur- 
ing the morninLT, we travelled up the east- 
ern fork of the Fonlaine-qw-bouit river, our 
road being rougiiened liy iVequeni deep gul- 
lies linilieied with pine, and halted to noon 
on a small branch of this stream, timbered 
principally with t!ie narrow-leaved cotton- 



wood, (populus artgustifolia,) CRlled by the 
Canadians hard amere. On a hill, near by, 
were two remarkahle columns of .n grayish- 
white conglomerate rock, one of which was 
about twenty feet high, and two feet in di- 
ameter. They are surmounted by slabs of 
a dark ferruginous conglomerate, forming 
black caps, and adding very much to their 
columnar effect at a distance. This rock 
is very dcstruciibie by the action of the 
weather, and the hill, of which they for- 
merly constituted a part, is entirely abraded. 

A shaft of the gun carriage was broken 
in the afternoon ; and we made an early 
halt, the stream being from twelve to twen- 
ty feet wide, with clear water. As usual, 
the clouds had gathered to a storm over 
the mountains, and we had a showery even- 
ing. At sunset the thermometer stood at 
62°, and our elevation above the sea waa 
6,530 feet. 

July 20. — This morning (as we generally 
found the mornings under these mountains) 
was very clear and beautiful, and the air 
cool and pleasant, with the thermometer at 
44°. We continued our march up the 
stream, along a green sloping bottom, be- 
tween pine hills on the one hand, and the 
main Black hills on the other, towards the 
ridge which separates the waters of the 
Platte from those of th& Arkansas. As we 
approached the dividing ridge, the whole 
valley was radiant with flowers ; blue, yel- 
low, pink, white, scarlet, and purple, vied 
with each other in splendor. Esparcette 
was one of the highly characteristic plants, 
and a bright-looking flower {iraillardia 
aristata) was very frequent ; but the most 
abundant plant along our road to-day, was 
geranium maculalimi, which is the charac- 
teristic plant on this portion of the dividing' 
grounds. Crossing to the waters of the* 
Platte, fields of blue flax jfdded to the mag- 
nificence of this mountain garden; this was 
occasionally four feel in height, which was 
a luxuriance of growth that I rarely saw 
this almost universal plant attain throughout 
the journey. Continuing down a branch of 
the Pbltc, among high and very steep tim- 
bered hills, covered with fragments of rock, 
towards evening we issued from the piny 
region, and made a late encampment near 
Poundcake rock, on that fork of the river 
which we had ascended on the Btli of July. 
Our animals enjoyed the abundant rushes 
this evening, as the flies were so bad among 
the pines that they had been much harassed. 
A deer was killed here this evening; and 
again Ine evening was overcast, and a col- 
lection of brilliant red clouds in the west 
was followed by the customary squall of rain. 

Achillea millefolium, (milfoil) was among 
the characteristic plants of the river bot- 
toms to-day This was one of the most 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



65* 



common plants during the whole of our 
journey, occurring in almost every variety 
of situation. I noticed it on the lowlands 
of the rivers, near the coast of the Pacific, 
and near to the snow among the mountains 
of the Sierra Nevada. 

During this excursion, we had surveyed 
to its head one of the two principal branches 
of the upper Arkansas, 75 miles in length, 
and entirely completed our survey of the 
South fork of the Platte, to the extreme 
sources of that portion of the river which 
belongs to the plains, and heads in the bro- 
ken hills of the Arkansas dividing ridge, at 
the foot of the mountains. That portion of 
its waters which were collected among these 
mountains, it was hoped to explore on our 
homeward voyage. 

Reaching St. Vrain's fort on the morning 
of the 23d, we found Mr. Fitzpatrick and 
his party in good order and excellent health, 
and my true and reliable friend, Kit Carson, 
who had brought with him ten good mules, 
with the necessary pack-saddles. Mr. 
Fitzpatrick, who hud often endured every 
extremity of w'ant during the course of his 
mountain life, and knew well the value of 
provisions in this country, had watched over 
our stock with jealous vigilance, and there 
was an abundance of flour, rice, sugar, and 
coffee, in the camp ; and again we fared 
luxuriously. Meat was, however, very 
scarce ; and two very small pigs, which we 
obtained at the fort, did not go far among 
forty men. Mr. Fitzpatrick had been here 
a week, during which time his men had 
been occupied in refitting the camp ; and 
the repose had been very beneficial to his 
animals, which were now in tolerably good 
condition. 

I had been able to obtain no certain in- 
formation in regard to the character of the 
passes in this portion of the Rocky moun- 
tain range, which had always been repre- 
sented as impracticable for carriages, but 
the exploration of which was incidentally 
contemplated by my instructions, with the 
view of finding some convenient point of 
passage for the road of emigration, which 
would enable it to reach, on a more direct 
line, the usual ford of the Great Colorado — 
a place considered as determined by the na- 
ture of the country beyond that river. It is 
singular, that immediately at the foot of the 
mountains, I could find no one sufficiently 
acquainted with them to guide us to the 
plains at their western base ; .but the race 
of trappers, who formerly lived in their re- 
cesses, has almost entirely disappeared — 
dwindled to a few scattered in'^ividuals — 
some one or two of whom aro regularly 
killed in the course of each year by the In- 
dians. You will remember, that in the pre- 
vious year I brought \\ilh me to their village 

5 



near this post, and hospitably treated on the 
way, several Cheyenne Indians, whom I had 
met on the Lower Platte. Shortly after 
their arrival here, these were out with a 
party of Indians, (themselves the principal 
men,) which discovered a few trappers in 
the neighboring mountains, whom they im- 
mediately murdered, although one of them 
had been nearly thirty years in the country, 
and was perfectly well known, as he had 
grown gray among them. 

Through this portion of the mountains, 
also, are the customary roads of the war 
parties going out against the Utah and 
Shoshonee Indians ; and occasionally par- 
ties from the Crow nation make their way 
down to the southward along this chain, in the 
expectation of surprising some straggling 
lodges of their enemies. Shortly before our 
arrival, one of tiieir parties had attacked an 
Arapaho village in tlie vicinity, which they 
had found unexpectedly strong ; and their 
assault was turned into a rapid flight and a 
hot pursuit, in which they had been com- 
pelled to abandon the animals they had rode, 
and escape on their war horses. 

Into this uncertain and dangerous region, 
small parties of three or four trappers, who 
now could collect together, rarely ventured ; 
and consequently it was seldom visited and 
little known. Having determined to try 
the passage by a pass through a spur of the 
mountains made by the Cdc/ie-a-la-Poudre 
river, which rises in the high bed of moun- 
tains around Long's peak, I thought it ad- 
visable to avoid any encumbrance which 
would occasion detention, and accordingly 
again separated the party into two divisions 
— one of which, under the command of Mr. 
Fitzpatrick, was directed to cross the plains 
to the mouth of Laramie river, and, continu- 
ing thence its route along the usual emi- 
grant road, meet me at Fort Hall, a post 
belonging to the Hudson Bay Company, 
and situated on Snake river, as it is com- 
monly called in the Oregon Territory, al- 
though better known to us as Lewis's fork 
of the Columbia. The latter name is there 
restricted to one of the upper forks of the 
river. 

Our Delaware Indians having determined 
to return to their homes, it became necessa- 
ry to provide this party with a good hunter ; 
and I accordingly engaged in that capacity 
Alexander Godey, a young man about 25 
years of age, who had been in this country 
six or seven years, all of which time had 
been actively employed in hunting for the 
support of the posts, or in solitary trading 
expeditions among the Indians. In courage 
and professional skill he was a formidable 
rival to Carson, and constantly afterwards 
was among the best and most eflicient o-f 
the parly, au'' a difficult situations was of 



66 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



incalculable value. Hiram Powers, one 
of the men belonging to Mr. Fitzpatrick's 
party, was discharged at this place. 

A French engage, at Lupton's fort, had 
been shot in the back on the 4th of July, 
and died diiring our absence to the Arkan- 
sas. The wife of the murdered man, an 
Indian woman of the Snake nation, desirous, 
like Naomi of old, to return to her people, 
requested and obtained permission to travel 
witli my party to the neighborhood of Bear 
river, where she expected to meet with 
some of their villages. Happier than the 
Jewish widow, she carried with her two 
children, pretty little half-breeds, who added 
much to the liveliness of the camp. Her 
baggage was carried on five or six pack 
horses ; and I gave her a small tent, for 
which I no longer had any use, as I had 
procured a lodge at the fort. 

For my own party 1 selected the follow- 
ing men, a number of whom old associations 
rendered agreeable to me : 

Charles Preuss, Christopher Carson, Ba- 
sil Lajeunesse, Fran<;(>isBadeau, J. B. Ber- 
nier, Louis Menard, Raphael Proue, .lacob 
Dodson, Louis Zindel, Henry Lee, J. B. 
Derosier, Franc^ois Lajeunesse, and Auguste 
Vasquez. 

By observation, the latitude of the post is 
40° 16' 33", and its longitude 105^^ 1'2' 23", 
depending, with all the other longitudes 
along this portion of the line, upon a subse- 
quent occultation of September 13, 1843, to 
"which they are referred by the chronome- 
ter. Its distance from Kansas landing, by 
the road we travelled, (which, it will be re- 
membered, was very winding along the 
lower Kansas river,) was 750 miles. The 
late of the chronometer, determined by ob- 
servations at this place for the interval of 
our absence, during this month, was 33.72", 
•which you will hereafter see did not sensi- 
Wy change during the ensuing month, and 
lemained nearly constant during the re- 
mainder of our journey across the continent. 
This was the rate used in referring to St. 
Vrain's fort, the longitude between that 
place and the mouth of the Fontainc-qia- 
bouit. 

Our various barometrical observations, 
which are better worthy of confidence than 
the isolated determination of 1842, tiive, for 
the elevation of the fort above the sea, 4,930 
feet. The barometer hero used was also a 
better one, and less liable to derangement. 

At the end of two days, which v.'as allow- 
ed to my animals for necessary repose, all 
the arrangements had been completed, and 
on the afternoon of the 26th we resumed our 
respective routes. Some little trouble was 
experienced in crossing the Platte, tiie wa- 
ters of which were still kept up by rains and 
melting snow ; and having traycUed only 



about four miles, we encamped in the even- 
ing on Thompson's creek, where we were 
very much disturbed by mosquitoes. 

The following days we continued our 
march westward over comparative plains, 
and, fording the Ciche-a-la-Poudre on the 
morning of the 28th, entered the Black hills, 
and nooned on this stream in the mountains 
beyond them. Passing over a fine large 
bottom in the afternoon, we reached a place 
where the river was shut up in the hills ; 
and, ascending a ravine, made a laborious 
and very difficult passage around by a gap, 
striking the river again about dusk. A little 
labor, however, would remove this diffi- 
culty, and render the road to this point a 
very excellent one. The evening closed 
in dark with rain, and the mountains looked 
gloomy. 

July 29. — Leaving our encampment about 
7 in the morning, we travelled until 3 in the 
afternoon along the river, which, for this 
distance of about six miles, runs directly 
through a spur of the main mountains. 

We were compelled by the nature of the 
ground to cross the river eight or nine times, 
at difficult, deep, and rocky fords, tiic stream 
running w'ith great force, swollen by the 
rains — a true mountain torrent, only forty 
or fifty feet wide. It was a mountain valley 
of the narrowest kind — almost a chasm ; ■ 
and the scenery very wild and beautiful. 
Towering mountains rose round about ; their 
sides sometimes dark with forests of pine, 
and sometimes with lofty precipices, washed 
by the river ; while below, as if they in- 
demnified themselves in luxuriance for the 
scanty space, the green river bottom was 
covered with a wilderness of flowers, their 
tall spikes sometimes rising above our heads 
as we rode among them. A profusion of 
blossoms on a white flowering vine, {clema- 
tis lasianthi,) which was abundant along the 
river, contrasted handsomely with the green 
foliage of the trees. The mountain appear- 
ed to be composed of a greenish gray and' 
red granite, which in some places appeared 
to be in a state of decomposition, making a 
red soil. 

The stream was wooded with cotton- 
wood, box-elder, and cherry, willi currant 
and serviceberry bushes. After a some- 
what laborious day, during which it had' 
rained incessantly, we encamped near tlie 
end of the pass at the month of a small 
creek, in sight of the great Laramie plain:?. 
It continued to rain heavily, and at evening 
tlie mountains were hid in mists ; but there 
was no lack of wood, and the large fires we 
made to dry our clothes were very comfort- 
able ; and at night the hunters came in with 
a fine deer. Rough and diflicult as we found 
the pass to-day, an excellent road may ha 
made with a little labor. Elevation of th* 



i843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



67 



camp 5,540 feet, and distance from St. 
Train's fort 56 miles. 

July 30. — The day was bright again ; the 
thermometer at sunrise 52° ; and leaving 
our encampment at 8 o'clock, in about half 
a mile we crossed the Cdche-d-la-Poudre 
river for the last time ; and, entering a 
smoother country, we travelled along a kind 
of vaUojT, bounded on the right by red buttes 
and precipices, while to the left a high roll- 
ing 'country extended to a range of the 
Black hills, beyond which rose the great 
mountains around Long's peak. 

By the great quantity of snow visible 
among theni, it had probably snowed heavily 
there the previous day, while it had rained 
on us in the valley. 

We balled at noon on a small branch ; 
and in the afternoon travelled over a high 
country, gradually ascending towards a 
range, of buttes, or high hills covered with 
pines, which forms the dividing ridge be- 
tween the waters we had left and those of 
Laramie river. 

Late in the evening we encamped at a 
spring of cold water, near the summit of the 
ridge, having increased our elevation to 
7,520 feet. During the day we had travel- 
Jed 24 miles. By some indifferent observa- 
tions, our latitude is 41° 02' 19". A spe- 
cies of hedeome was characteristic along the 
whole day's route. 

Emerging from the mountains, we enter- 
ed a region of bright, fair weather. In my 
experience in this country, I was forcibly 
impressed with the different character of 
the climate on opposite sides of the Rocky 
mountain range. The vast prairie plain on 
the east is like the ocean ; the rain and 
clouds from the constantly evaporating snow 
of the mountains rushing down into the heat- 
ed air of the plains, on which you will have 
occasion to remark the frequent storms of 
rain we encountered during our journey. 

Juli/ 31. — The morning was clear ; tem- 
perature 48'^. A fine rolling road, among 
piny and grassy hills, brought us this morn- 
ing into a large trail where an Indian vil- 
lage had recently passed. The weather 
was pleasant and cool ; we were disturbed 
by neither mosquitoes nor Hies ; and the 
country was certainly extremely beautiful. 
The slopes and broad ravines were abso- 
lutely covered with fields of i^jowers of the 
most exquisitely beautiful colors. Among 
those which had not hitherto made their ap- 
pearance, and which here were characteris- 
tic, was a new delphinium, of a green and 
lustrous metallic blue color, mingled with 
compact fields of several bright-colored va- 
rieties of astragalus, which were crowded 
together in splendid profusion. This trail 
conducted us through a remarkable defile, 
to a little timbered creek, up which we 



wound our way, passing by a singular and 
massive wall of dark-red granite. The 
formation of the country is a red feldapathic 
granite, overlying a decomposing mass of 
the same rock, forming the soil of all this 
region, which ever3'where is red and grav- 
elly, and appears to be of a great floral fer- 
tility. 

As we emerged on a small tributary of 
the Laramie river, coming in sight of its 
principal stream, the flora became perfectly 
magnificent ; and we congratulated our- 
selves, as we rode along our pleasant road, 
that we had substituted this for the uninter- 
esting country between Laramie hills and 
the JSweet Water valley. We had no meat 
for supper last night or breakfast this morn- 
ing, and were glad to see Carson come in 
at noon with a good antelope. 

A meridian observation of the sun placed 
us in latitude 41° 04' OG". In the evening 
we encamped on the Laramie river, which 
is here very thinly timbered with scattered 
groups of cotton-wood at considerable inter- 
vals. From our camp, we are able to dis- 
tinguish the gorges, in which are tiie sources 
of C^che-'a-la-Poudre and Laramie rivers ; 
and the Medicine Bow mountain, towards 
the point of which we are directing our 
course this afternoon, has been in sight the 
greater part of tiie day. By observation 
the latitude w^as 41° 15' 02", and longitude 
106° 16' 54". The same beautiful flora 
continued till about four in the afternoon, 
when it suddenly disappeared, with the red 
,soil, which became sandy and of a whitish- 
gray color. The evening was tolerably 
clear ; temperature at sunset 64°. The 
day's journey was 30 miles. 

August 1. — The morning was calm and 
clear, with sunrise temperature at 42°. We 
travelled to-day over a plain, or open roll- 
ing country, at the foot of the Medicine 
Bow mountain ; the soil in the morning be- 
ing sandy, with fragments of rock abun- 
dant; and in the afternoon, when we ap- 
proached closer to the mountain, so stony 
that we made but little way. The beautiful 
plants of yesterday reappeared occasional- 
ly ; flax in bloom occurred during the morn- 
ing, and esparcette in luxuriant abundance 
was a characteristic of the stony ground in 
the afternoon. The camp was roused into 
a little excitement by a chase after a buffa- 
lo bull, and an encounter with a war party 
of Sioux and Cheyenne Indians about 30 
strong. Hares and antelope were seen du- 
ring the day, and one of the latter was 
killed. The Laramie peak was in sight 
this afternoon. The evening was clear, 
with scattered clouds : temperature 62=^. 
The day's journey was 26 miles. 

August 2. — Temperature at sunrise 52°, 
and scenery and weather made our road to- 



68 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843". 



day delightful. The neighboring mountain 
is thickly studded with pines, intermingled 
with the brighter foliage of aspens, and 
occasional spots like lawns between the 
patches of snow among the pines, and here 
and there on the heights. Our route below 
lay over a comparative plain, covered with 
the same brilliant vegetation, and the day 
Avas clear and pleasantly cool. During the 
morning, we crossed many streams, clear 
and rocky, and broad grassy valleys, of a 
strong black soil, washed down from the 
mountains, and producing excellent pastu- 
rage. These were timbered with the red 
willow and long-leaved cotton-wood, min- 
gled with aspen, as we approached the 
mountain more nearly towards noon. Es- 
parcette was a characteristic, and flax oc- 
curred frequently in bloom. We halted at 
noon on the most western fork of Laramie 
liver — a handsome stream about sixty feet 
wide and two feet deep, with clear water 
and a swift current, over a bed composed 
entirely of boulders or roll stones. There 
was a large open bottom here, on which 
were many lodge poles lying about ; and in 
the edge of the surrounding timber were 
three strong forts, that appeared to have 
been recently occupied. At this place I 
became first acquainted with the yampah, 
(anethum graveolens,) which I found our 
Snake woman engaged in digging in the 
low timbered bottom of the creek. Among 
the Indians along the Rocky mountains, and 
more particularly among the Shoshonee or 
Snake Indians, in whose territory it is very 
abundant, this is considered the best among 
ihe roots used for food. To us it was an 
interesting plant — a little link between the 
savage and civilized life. Here, among liie 
Indians, its root is a common article of food, 
which they take pleasure in offering to 
strangers ; while with us, in a considerable 
portion of America and Europe, the seeds 
are used to flavor soup. It grows more 
abundantly, and in greater luxuriance, on 
one of the neighboring tributaries of the 
Colorado than in any other part of this re- 
gion ; and on that stream, to which the 
Snakes are accustomed to resort every year 
to procure a supply of their favorite plant, 
they have bestowed the name of Yumpah 
river. Among the trappers, it is generally 
known as Little Snake river ; but in this 
and other instances, where it illustrated the 
history of the people inhabiting the country, 
I have preferred to retain on the map the 
aboriginal name. By a meridional obser- 
vation, the latitude is 41° 45' 59". 

In the afternoon we took our way direct- 
ly across the spurs from the point of the 
mountain, where we had several ridges to 
cross ; and, although the road was not ren- 
dered bad by the nature of the ground, it 



was made extremely rough by the stiff 
tough bushes of artemisia tridentaCa,* in 
this country commonly called sage. 

This shrub now began to make its ap- 
pearance in compact fields ; and we were 
about to quit for a long time this country of 
excellent pasturage and brilliant flowers.. 
Ten or twelve buffalo bulls were seen dur- 
ing the afternoon ; and we were surprised 
by the appearance of a large red ox. We 
gathered around him as if he had been an 
old acquaintance, with all our domestic feel- 
ings as much awakened as if we had come in 
sight of an old farm house. He had proba- 
bly made his escape from some party of 
emigrants on Green river ; and, with a vivid 
remembrance of some old green field, he 
was pursuing the straightest course for the 
frontier that the country admitted. We 
carried him along with us as a prize- and, 
when it was found in the morning that he 
had wandered off, I would not let him be 
pursued, for I would rather have gone 
through a starving time of three entire days, 
than let him be killed after he had success- 
fully run the gauntlet so far among the In- 
dians. I have been told by Mr. Bent's 
people of an ox born and raised at St. 
Vrain's fort, which made his escape from 
them at Elm grove, near the frontier, hav- 
ing come in that year with the wagons. 
They were on their way out, and saw occa- 
sionally places where he had eaten and lain 
down to rest ; but did not see him for about 
700 miles, when they overtook him on the 
road, travelling along to the fort, having 
unaccountably escaped Indians and every 
other mischance. 

We encamped at evening on the princi- 
pal fork of Medicine Bow river, near to an 
isolated mountain called the Medicine Butte, 
which appeared to be about 1,800 feet above 
the plain, from which it rises abruptly, and 
was still white, nearly to its base, with a 
great quantity of snow. The streams were 
timbered with the long-leaved cotton-wood 
and red willow; and during the afternoon a 
species of onion was very abundant. I ob- 
tained here an immersion of the first satel- 
lite of Jupiter, which, corresponding very 
nearly with the chronometer, placed us in 
longitude lOG^ 47' 25". The latitude, by 
observation, was 41° 37' 16"; elevation 
above the sea, 7,800 feet, and distance froai 
St. Vrain's fort, 147 miles. 

August 3. — There was a white frost last 
night ; the morning is clear and cuol. We 

* Tlic greater portion of our subsequent jour- 
ney waa througii a regiou wherr this shrub con- 
stituted the tree of the country ; and, as it will 
often L. mentioned in occasional descriptions, 
the wt . artemisia only will be used, without 
the specific name. 



1843] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



6§ 



were early on the road, having breakfasted 
before sunrise, and in a few miles travel 
entered the pass of the Medicine Butte, 
through which led a broad trail, which had 
been recently travelled by a very large par- 
ty. Immediately in the pass, the road was 
broken by ravines, and we were obliged to 
clear a way through groves of aspens, which 
generally made their appearance when w-e 
reached elevated regions. According to the 
barometer, this was 8,300 feet ; and while 
we were detained in opening a road, I ob- 
tained a meridional observation of the sun, 
which gave 41° 35' 48" for the latitude of 
the pass. The Medicine Butte is isolated 
by a small tributary of the North fork of the 
Platte, but the mountains approach each 
other very nearly ; the stream running at 
their feet. On the south they are smooth, 
with occasional streaks of pine ; but the 
butte itself is ragged, with escarpments of 
red feldspathic granite, and dark with pines ; 
the snow reaching from the summit to within 
a few hundred feet of the trail. The gran- 
ite here was more compact and durable than 
that in the formation wiiich we had passed 
through a few days before to the eastward 
of Laramie. Continuing our way over a 
plain on the west side of the pass, where 
the road was terribly rough with artemisia, 
we made our evening encampment on the 
creek, where it took a northern direction, 
unfavorable to the course we were pursu- 
ing. Bands of buffalo were discovered as 
we came down upon the plain ; and Carson 
brought into the camp a cow which had the 
fat on the fleece two inches thick. Even 
in this country of rich pasturage and abun- 
dant game, it is rare that the hunter chances 
iipon a finer animal. Our voyage had al- 
ready been long, but this was the first good 
buffalo meat we had obtained. We travel- 
led to-day 26 miles. 

August 4. — The morning was clear and 
calm; and, leaving the creek, we travelled 
towards the North fork of the Platte, over 
a plain which was rendered rough and 
broken by ravines. With the exception of 
some thin grasses, the sandy soil here was 
occupied almost exclusively by artemisia, 
with its usual turpentine odor. We had ex- 
pected to meet with some difficulty in cross- 
ing the river, but happened to strike it 
where there was a very excellent ford, and 
halted to noon on the left bank, 200 miles 
from St. Vrain's fort. The hunters brought 
in pack animals loaded with fine meat. Ac- 
cording to our imperfect knowledge of the 
country, there should have been a small af- 
fluent to this stream a few miles higher up ; 
and in the afternoon we continued our way 
among the river hills, in the expt ;ation o# 
encamping upon it in the evenii.- . The 
ground proved to be so exceedingly diffi- 



cult, broken up into hills, terminating in es- 
carpments and broad ravines, 500 or 600 
feet deep, with sides so precipitous that we 
could scarcely find a place to descend, that, 
towards sunset, I turned directly in towards 
the river, and, after nightfall, entered a sort 
of ravine. We were obliged to feel our 
way, and clear a road in the darkness ; the 
surface being much broken, and the pro- 
gress of the carriages being greatly ob- 
structed by the artemisia, which had a luxu- 
riant growth of four to six feet in height. 
We liad scrambled along this gully for sev- 
eral hours, during which we had knocked 
off the carriage lamps, broken a thermome- 
ter and several small articles, when, fear- 
ing to lose something of more importance, 
1 halted for the night at 10 o'clock. Our 
animals were turned down towards the riv- 
er, that they might pick up what little 
grass they could find ; and after a little 
search, some water was found in a small 
ravine, and improved by digging. We light- 
ed up the ravine with fires of artemisia, and 
about midnight sat down to a supper which 
we were hungry enough to find delightful—^ 
although the buffalo meat was crusted with 
sand, and the coffee was bitter with the 
wormwood taste of the artemisia leaves. 

A successful day's hunt had kept our 
hunters occupied until late, and they slept 
out, but rejoined us at daybreak, w^hen, 
finding ourselves only about a mile from the 
river, we followed the ravine down, and 
camped in a cotton-wood grove on a beauti- 
ful grassy bottom, where our animals in- 
demnified themselves for the scanty fare ot 
the past night. It was quite a pretty and 
pleasant place ; a narrow strip of prairie 
about five hundred yards long terminated at 
the ravine where we entered by high precip- 
itous hills closing in upon the river, and 
at the upper end by a ridge of low rolling 
hills. 

In the precipitous bluffs were displayed a 
succession of strata containing fossil vege- 
table remains, and several beds of coal. In 
some of the beds the coal did not appear to 
be perfectly mineralized ; and in some of 
the seams, it was compact and remarkably 
lustrous. In these latter places there were 
also thin layers of a very fine white salts, 
in powder. As we had a large supply of 
meat in the camp, which it was necessary 
to dry, and the surrounding country appear- 
ed to be well stocked with buffalo, which it 
was probable, after a day or two, we would 
not see again until our return to the Missis- 
sippi waters, I determined to make here a 
provision of dried meat, which would be ne- 
cessary for our subsistence in the region we 
were about entering, which was said to be 
nearly destitute of game. Scaffolds were 
accordingly soon erected, fires made, and 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



the meat cut into thin slices to be dried ; 
and all were busily occupied, when the camp 
was thrown into a sudden tumult, by a 
(Charge from about 70 mounted Indians, over 
:tb€ low hills at the upper end of the little 
■bottom. Fortunately, the guard, who was 
between them and our animals, had caught 
a glimpse of an Indian's head, as he raised 
himself in his stirrups to look over the hill, 
a moment before he made the charge ; and 
succeeded in turning the band into the camp, 
as the Indians charged into the bottom with 
the usual yell. Before they reached us, the 
grove on the verge of the little bottom was 
occupied by our people, and the Indians 
brought to a sudden halt, which they made 
in time to save themselves from a howitzer 
shot, which would undoubtedly have been 
very effective in such a compact body ; and 
further proceedings were interrupted by 
their signs for peace. They proved to be a 
v,ar party of Arapaho and Cheyenne In- 
dians, and informed us that they had charged 
upon the camp under the belief that we were 
hostile Indians, and had discovered their 
mistake only at the moment of the attack 
— an excuse which policy required us to re- 
ceive as true, though under the full convic- 
tion that the display of our little howitzer, 
and our favorable position in the grove, cer- 
tainly saved our horses, and probably our- 
selves, from their marauding inter.lions. 
They had been on a war party, and had 
been defeated, and were consequently in the 
state of mind which aggravates tlieir innate 
thirst for plunder and blood: Their excuse, 
however, was taken in good part, and the 
usual evidences of friendship' interchanged. 
The pipe went round, provisions were 
spread, and the tobacco and goods furnished 
the customary presents, which they look 
for even from traders, and much more from 
.government authorities. 

They were returning from an expedition 
against the Shoshonee Indians, one of whose 
villages they had surprised, at Bridger's 
fort, on Ham's fork of Green river, (in the 
absence of the men, who were engaged in 
an antelope surround,) and succeeded in 
carrying off their horses and taking several 
scalps. News of the attack reached the 
Snakes immediately, who pursued and 
overtook them, and recovered tlieir horses; 
and, in the running fight which ensued, the 
Arapahos had lost several men killed, and 
a number wounded, who were coming on 
more slowly with a party in the rear. 
Nearly all the horses they had brought off 
were the property of the whites at the 
fort. After remaining until nearly sunset, 
they took their departure; and the excite- 
ment which their arrival had afforded sub- 
sided into our usual quiet, a little enlivened 
Jby the vigilance rendered necessary by the 



neighborhood of our uncertain visiters. 
At noon the thermometer was at 75°, at 
sunset 70°, and the evening clear. Eleva- 
tion above the sea G,620 feet; latitude 41° 
36' 00"; longitude 107° 22' 27". 

August G. — At sunrise the thermometer 
was 46°, the morning being clear and 
calm. We travelled to-day over an ex- 
tremely rugged country, barren and un- 
interesting — nothing to be seen but arte- 
inisia bushes ; and, in the evening, found a 
grassy ^pot among the lulls, kept green by 
several springs, where we encamped late. 
Within a few hundred yards was a very 
pretty little stream of clear cool water, 
whose green banks looked refreshing among 
the dry rocky hills. The hunters brought 
in a fat mountain sheep, {ovis monlana.) 

Our road the next day was through a, 
continued and dense field of artcmisia, 
which now entirely covered the country in 
such a luxuriant growth that it was difiicult 
and laborious for a man on foot to force his 
way through, and nearly impracticable for. 
our light carriages. The region through 
which we were travelling was a high 
plateau, constituting the dividing ridge be- 
tv.-een the waters of the Atlantic and Pa- 
cific oceans, and extending to a considera- 
ble distance southward, from the neighbor- 
hood of the Table rock, at the southern 
side of the South Pass. Thoi-.gh broken 
up into rugged and rocky hills of a dry and 
barren nature, it has nothing of a moun- 
tainous character ; the small streams which 
occasionally occur belonging neither to the 
Platte nor the Colorado, but losing them- 
selves cither in the sand or in small lakes. 
From an eniine'nce, in the afternoon, a 
mountainous range became visible in the 
north, in which were recognised some 
rocky peaks belonging to the range of the 
Sweet Water valley; and, determining to 
abandon any further attempt to struggle 
through this almost impracticable country, 
we turned our course directly north, towards 
a pass in the valley of the Sweet Water 
river. A shaft of tiie gun-carriage was 
broken during the afternoon, causing a con- 
siderable delay ; and it was late in an un- 
pleasant evening before we succeeded in 
finding a very poor encampment, where 
there was a little water in a deep trench of 
a creek, and some scanty grass among the 
shrubs. All the game here tonsisled in a 
few straggling buffalo bulls, and during the 
day there had been but very little grass, 
except in some green spots where it liad. 
collected around springs or shallow lakes. 
Within fifty miles of the Sweet Water, the 
country changed into a vast saline plain, in 
^many places extremely level, occasionally 
resembling the flat sandy beds of shallow^ 
lakes. Here the vegetation consisted of a 



1843. 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



71 



shrubby growth, among which were several 
varieties of chenopodiaceous plants ; but 
the characteristic shrub was Fremontia 
vermicxdaris, with smaller saline shrubs 
growing with singular luxuriance, and in 
many places holding exclusive possession 
ot" the ground. 

On the evening of the 8th, we encamped 
on one of these fresh-water lakes, which 
the traveller considers himself fortunate to 
find ; and the next day, in latitude by ob- 
servation 4-3^ 20' 06", halted to noon im- 
mediately at the foot of the southern side 
of the range which walls in the Sweet 
Water valley, on the head of a small tribu- 
tary to that river. 

Continuing in the afternoon our course 
down the stream, which here cuts directly 
through the ridge, forming a very practica- 
ble pass, we entered the valley ; and, after 
a march of about nine miles, encamped on 
our familiar river, endeared to us by the 
acquaintance of the previous expedition ; 
the night having already closed in with a 
cold rain-storm. Our camp was about 
twenty miles above the Devil's gate, which 
we had been able to see in coming down 
the plain ; and, in the course of the night, 
the clouds broke away around Jupiter for a 
short time, during wliich we obtained an 
emersion of the first satellite, the result 
of which agreed very nearly with the 
chronometer, giving for the mean longitude 
107° 50' 07" ; elevation above the sea 6,040 
feet ; and distance from St. Vrain's fort, by 
the road we had just travelled, 315 miles. 

Here passes the road to Oregon ; and 
the broad smooth highway, where the nu- 
merous heavy wagons of the emigrants 
had entirely beaten and crushed the arte- 
misia, was a happy exchange to our poor 
animals tor the sharp rocks and tough 
shrubs among which they had been toiling 
so long ; and we moved up the valley 
rapidly and pleasantly. With very little 
deviation from our route of the preceding 
year, we continued up the valley ; and on 
the evening of the 12th encamped on the 
Sweet Water, at a point where the road 
turns off to cross to the plains of Green 
river. The increased coolness of the 
weather indicated that we had attained a 
great elevation, which the barometer here 
placed at 7,220 feet ; and during the night 
water froze in the lodge. 

The morning of the 13th was clear and 
cold, there being a white frost ; and the 
thermometer, a little before sunrise, stand- 
ing at 26.5^. Leaving this encampment, 
(our last on the waters which flow towards 
the rising sun,) we took our way along the 
upland, towards the dividing ridge which 
separates the Atlantic from the Pacific 
waters, and crossed it by a road some miles 



further sguth than the one we had followed 
on our return in 1842. We crossed very 
near the table mountain, at the southern 
extremity of the South Pass, which is 
near twenty miles in width, and already 
traversed by several difTerent roads. Se- 
lecting as well as I could, in the scarcely 
distinguishable ascent, what might be con- 
sidered the dividing ridge in this remarka- 
ble depression in the mountain, I took a 
barometrical observation, which gave 7,490 
feet for the elevation above the Gulf of 
Mexico. You will remember that, in my 
report of 1842, I estimated the elevation of 
this pass at about 7,000 feet ; a correct ob- 
servation with a good barometer enables 
me now to give it with more precision. 
Its importance, as the great gate through 
which commerce and travelling may here- 
after pass between the valley of the Mis- 
sissippi and the north Pacific, justifies a 
precise notice of its locality and distance 
from leading points, in addition to this 
statement of its elevation. As stated in 
the report of 1842, its latitude at the point- 
where we crossed is 42° 24' 32" ; its longi- 
tude lOQO 26' 00" ; its distance from the 
mouth of the Kansas, by the common trav- 
elling route, 962 miles ; from the mouth of 
the Great Platte, along the valley of that 
river, according to our survey of 1842. 
882 miles ; and its distance from St. Louis 
about 400 miles more by the Kansas, and 
about 700 by the Great Platte route ; these 
additions being steamboat conveyance in 
both instances. From this pass to the 
mouth of the Oregon is about 1,400 miles 
by the common travelling route ; so that,, 
under a general point of view, it may be 
assumed to be about half way between the 
Mississippi and the Pacific ocean, on the 
common travelling route. Following a 
hollow of slight and easy descent, in 
which was very soon formed a little tribu- 
tary to the Gulf of California, (for the waters 
which flow west from the South Pass go ta 
this gulf,) we made our usual halt four- 
miles from the pass, in latitude by observa- 
tion 42'3 19' 53". Entering here the valley, 
of Green river — the great Colorado of the 
West — and inclining very much to the 
southward along the streams which form 
the Sandy river, the road led for several 
days over dry and level uninteresting 
plains ; to which a low, scrubby growth of 
artemisiagave a uniform dull grayish color; 
and on the evening of the 15th we en- 
camped in the Mexican territory, on the left 
bank of Green river, 09 miles from the 
South Pass, in longitude 110'^ 05' 05", and 
latitude 41^ 53' 54", distant 1,031 miles 
from the mouth of the Kansas. This is 
the emigrant road to Oregon, which bears 
much to the southward, to avoid the moun- 



73 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[184S. 



tains about the western heads of Green 
river — the Rio Verde of the Spaniards. 

August 16. — Crossing the river, here 
about 400 feet wide, by a very good ford, 
■we continued to descend for seven or eight 
miles on a pleasant road along the right 
bank of the stream, of which the islands 
and shores are handsomely timbered with 
cotton-wood. The refreshing appearance of 
the broad river, with its timbered shores 
and green wooded islands, in contrast to its 
dry sandy plains, probubly obtained for it the 
name of Green river, which was bestowed 
on it by the Spaniards who first came into 
this country to trade sonic 95 years ago. It 
was then familiarly known as the Sceds-ke- 
dee-agie, or Prairie Hen {tctrao nrophasi- 
anus) river ; a name which it received from 
the Crows, to whom its upper waters be- 
long, and on which this bird is still very 
abundant. By the Shoshonee and Utah 
Indians, to whom belongs, for a considerable 
distance below, the country v.here we were 
now travelling, it was called the Bitter 
Root river, from tho great abundance in its 
valley of a plant which affords them one of 
their favorite roots. Lower down, from 
Brown's hole to the southward, the river 
runs through lofty chasms, walled in by pre- 
cipices of red rock ; and even among the 
wilder tribes who inhabit that portion of its 
course, I have heard it called by Indian 
refugees from the Californian settlements 
the Rio Colorado. We halted to noon at 
the upper end of a large bottom, near some 
old houses, which had been a trading post, 
in latitude 41° 46' 54". At this place the 
elevation of the river above the sea is 
6,230 feet. That of Lewis's fork of the 
Columbia at Fort Hall is, according to our 
subsequent observations, 4,500 feet. The 
descent of each stream is rapid, but that of 
the Colorado is but little known, and that 
little derived from vague report. Three 
hundred miles of its lower part, as it ap- 
proaches the gulf of California, is reported 
to be smooth and tranquil ; but its upper 
part is manifestly broken into many falls 
and rapids. From many descriptions of 
trappers, it is probable that in its foaming 
eaurse among its lofty precipices it presents 
many scenes of wild grandeur ; and though 
offering many temptations, and often dis- 
cussed, no trappers have been found bold 
enough to undertake a voyage which has so 
certain a prospect of a fatal termination. 
The Indians have strange stories of beauti- 
ful valleys abounding with beaver, shut up 
among inaccessible walls of rock in the lower 
course of the river ; and to which the neigh- 
boring Indians, in their occasional wars with 
the Spaniards, and among themselves, drive 
their herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, 
leaving them to pasture in perfect security. 



The road here leaves the river, which 
bends considerably to the east ; and in the 
afternoon we resumed our westerly course, 
passing over a somewhat high and broken 
country ; and about sunset, after a day's 
travel of 26 miles, reached Black's fork of 
the Green river — a shallow stream, with a 
somewhat sluggish current, about 120 feet 
wide, timbered principally with willow, and 
here and there an occasional large tree. At 
3 in the morning I obtained an observation 
of an emersion of the first satellite of Jupi- 
ter, with other observations. The heavy 
wagons have so completely pulverized the 
soil, that clouds of fine light dust are raised 
by the slightest wind, making the road 
sometimes very disagreeable. 

August 17. — Leaving our encampment 
at 6 in tiie morning, we travelled along the 
bottom, which is about two miles wide, 
bordered by low hills, in which the strata 
contained handsome and very distinct vege- 
table fossils. In a gully a short distance 
farther up the river, and underlying these, 
was exposed a stratum of an impure or 
argillaceous limestone. Crossing on the 
way Black's fork, where it is one foot deep 
and forty wide, with clear water and a 
pebbly bed, in nine miles we reached Ham's 
fork, a tributary to the former stream, hav- 
ing now about sixty feet breadth, and a few 
inches depth of water. It is wooded with 
thickets of red willow, and in the bottom is 
a tolerably strong growth of grass. The 
road here makes a traverse of twelve miles 
across a bend of the river. Passing in the 
way some remarkable hills, two or three 
hundred feet high, with frequent and nearly 
vertical escarpments of a green stone, con- 
sisting of an argillaceous carbonate of lime, 
alternating with strata of an iron-brown 
limestone, and worked into picturesque 
forms by wind and rain, at 2 in the after- 
noon we reached the river again, having 
made to-day 21 miles. Since crossing the 
great dividing ridge of the Rocky moun- 
tains, plants have been very few in variety, 
the country being covered principally with 
artemisia. 

August 18. — We passed on the road, this 
morning, the grave of one of the emigrants, 
being the second we had seen since falling 
into their trail ; and halted to noon on the 
river, a short distance above. 

The Shoshonee woman took leave of us 
here, expecting to find some of her relations 
at Bridger's fort, which is only a mile or 
two distant, on a fork of this stream. In 
the evening we encamped on a salt creek, 
about fifteen feet wide, having to-day trav- 
elled 32 miles. 

I obt< ^ned an emersion of the first satel- 
lite under favorable circumatances, the night 
being still and elear. 



J843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



73 



' One of our mules died here, and in this 
portion of our journey we lost six or seven 
of our animals. The grass which the 
country had lately afforded was very poor 
and insufficient ; and animals which have 
been accustomed to grain become soon 
weak and unable to labor, when reduced to 
no other nourishment than grass. The 
American horses (as those are usually 
called which are brought to this country 
from the States) are not of any serviceable 
value until after they have remained a 
winter in the country, and become ac- 
customed to live entirely on grass. 
■ Aiigttst 19. — Desirous to avoid every de- 
lay not absolutely necessary, I sent on (-!ar- 
son ill advance to Fort Hall this morning, 
to make arrangements for a small supply 
of provisions- A few miles from our en- 
campment, the road entered a high ridge, 
which the trappers called the " little moun- 
tain," connecting the Utah with the Wind 
river chain ; and in one of the hills near 
which we passed I remarked strata of a 
conglomerate formation, fragments of which 
were scattered over the surface. We cross- 
ed a ridge of this conglomerate, the road 
passing near a grove of low cedar, and de- 
scended upon one of the heads of Ham's 
fork, called Muddy, where we made our 
mid-day halt. In the river hills at this place, 
I discovered strata of fossilliferous rock, 
having an oolitic structure, which, in con- 
nection with the neighboring strata, autho- 
rize us to believe that here, on the west 
side of the Rocky mountains, we find re- 
peated the modern formations of Great Bri- 
tain and Europe, which have hitherto been 
wanting to complete the system of Nortli 
American geology. 

In tlie afternoon we continued our road, 
and, searching among the hills a few miles 
up the stream, and on the same bank, I dis- 
covered, among alternating beds of coal and 
clay, a stratum of white indurated clay, 
containing very clear and beautiful impres- 
sions of vegetable remains. This was the 
most interesting fossil locality I had met in 
the country, and I deeply regretted that 
time did not permit me to remain a day or 
two in the vicinity ; but I could not antici- 
pate the delays to which I might be exposed 
in the course of our journey — or, rather, I 
knew that they were many and inevitable ; 
and after remaining here only about an hour, 
I hurried off, loaded with as many speci- 
mens as I could conveniently carry. 

Coal made its appearance occasionally in 
the hills during the afternoon, and was dis- 
played in rabbit burrows in a kind of gap, 
through which we passed over some high 
hills, and we descended to make ^ur en- 
campment on the same stream, where we 
found but very poor grass. In tiie evening 



a fine cow, with her calf, which had strayed 
off from some emigrant party, were found 
several miles from the road, and brought 
into camp ; and as she gave an abundance 
of milk, we enjoyed to-night an excellent 
cup of coffee. We travelled to-day 28 
miles, and, as lias been usual since crossing 
the Green river, the road has been very 
dusty, and the weather smoky and oppres- 
sively hot. Artemisia was characteristic 
among the few plants. 

August 20. — We continued to travel up 
the creek by a very gradual ascent and a 
very excellent grassy road, passing on the 
way several small forks of the stream. The 
bills here are higher, presenting escarp- 
ments of parti-colored and apparently clay 
rocks, purple, da.rk red, and yellow, con- 
taining strata of sandstone and limestone 
with shells, with a bed of cemented pebbles, 
the whole overlaid by beds of limestone. 
The alternation of red and yellow gives a 
bright appearance to the hills, one of which 
was called by our people the Rainbow hill ; 
and the character of the country became 
more agreeable, and travelling far more 
pleasant, as now we found timber and very 
good grass. Gradually ascending, we reach- 
ed the lower level of a bed of white lime- 
stone, lying upon a white clay, on the upper 
line of which the whole road is abundantly 
supplied with beautiful cool springs, gushing 
out a foot in breadth and several inches 
deep, directly from the hill side. At noon 
we halted at the last main fork of the creek, 
at an elevation of 7,200 feet, and in latitude, 
by observation, 41^ 39' 45"; and in the af- 
ternoon continued on the same excellent 
road, up the left or northern fork of the 
stream, towards its head, in a pass which 
the barometer placed at 8,230 feet above 
the sea. This is a connecting ridge be- 
tween the Utah or Bear river mountains 
and the Wind river chain of the Rocky 
mountains, separating the waters of the 
gulf of California on the east, and those on 
the west belonging more directly to the Pa- 
cific, from avast interior basin whose rivers 
are collected into numerous lakes having 
no outlet to the ocean. From the summit 
of this pass, the highest which the road 
crosses between the Mississippi and the 
Western ocean, our view was over a very 
mountainous region, whose rugged appear- 
ance was greatly increased by the smoky 
weather, through which the broken ridges 
were dark and dimly seen. The ascent to 
the summit of the gap was occasionally 
steeper than the national road in the Alle- 
ghanies ; and the descent, by way of a spur 
on the western side, is rather precipitous, 
but the pass may still be called a good one. 
Some thickets of willow in the hollows be- 
1 low deceived us into tiie expectation of 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



finding a camp at our usual hour at the foot 
of the mountain ; hut we found them with- 
out water, and continued down a ravine, 
and encamped about dark at a place where 
the springs again began to make their ap- 
pearance, but w^here our animals fared bad- 
ly ; the stock of the emigrants having razed 
the grass as completely as if we were again 
in the midst of the buffalo. 

August 21. — An hour's travel this morn- 
ing brought us into the fertile and pictu- 
resque valley of Bear river, the principal 
tributary to the Great Salt lake. The 
stream is here 200 feet wide, fringed with 
willows and occasional groups of hawthorns. 
We were now entering a region which for 
us possessed a strange and extraordinary 
interest. We were upon the waters of the 
famous lake which forms a salient point 
among the remarkable geographical features 
of the country, and around which the vague 
and superstitious accounts of the trappers 
had thrown a delightful obscurity, which 
we anticipated pleasure in dispelling, but 
which, in the mean time, left a crowded 
iield for the exercise of our imagination. 

In our occasional conversations with the 
few old hunters who had visited the region, 
it had been a subject of frequent specula- 
tion ; and the wonders which they related 
were not the less agreeable because they 
were highly exaggerated and impossible. 

Hitherto this lake had been seen only by 
trappers w^ho were wandering through the 
•country in search of new beaver streams, 
■caring very little for geography ; its islands 
had never been visited ; and none were to 
be found who had entirely made the circuit 
of its shores ; and no instrumental observa- 
-tions or geographical survey, of any de- 
scription, had ever been made anywhere in 
the neighboring region. It was generally 
.supposed that it had no visible outlet ; but 
among the trappers, including those in my 
own camp, were many who believed that 
somewhere on its surface was a terrible 
whirlpool, through which its waters found 
their way to the ocean by some subterra- 
nean communication. All these things had 
made a frequent subject of discussion in our 
desultory conversations around the fires at 
night ; and my own mind had become toler- 
ably well filled with their indefinite pictures, 
and insensibly colored with their romantic 
descriptions, which, in the pleasure of ex- 
citement, I was well disposed to believe, 
and half expected to realize. 

Where we descended into this beautiful 
valley, it is three to four miles in breadth, 
perfectly level, and bounded by mountainous 
ridges, one above another, rising suddenly 
from the plain. 

Wc continued our road down the river, 
and at night encamped with a family of emi- 



grants — two men, women, and several chil- 
dren — who appeared to be bringing up the 
rear of the great caravan. I was struck 
with the fine appearance of their cattle, 
some six or eight yoke of oxen, which really 
looked as well as if they had been all the 
summer at work on some good farm. It 
was strange to see one small family travel- 
ling along through such a country, so remote 
from civilization. Some nine years since, 
such a security might have been a fatal one ; 
but since their disastrous defeats in the 
country a little north, the Blackfeet have 
ceased to visit these waters. Indians, how- 
ever, are very uncertain in their localities ; 
and the friendly feelings, also, of those now 
inhabiting it may be changed. 

According to barometrical observation at 
noon, the elevation of the valley was 6,400 
feet above the sea ; and our encampment at 
night in latitude 42° 03' 47", and longitude 
11 1° 10' 53", by observation — the day's 
journey having been 26 miles. This en- 
campment was therefore within the territo- 
rial limit of the United States ; our travel- 
ling, from the time we entered the valley of 
the iG^reen river, on the 15th of August, 
having been to the south of the 42d degree 
of north latitude, and consequently on Mexi- 
can territory ; and this is the route all the 
emigrants now travel to Oregon. 

The temperature at sunset was 65° ; and 
at evening there was a distant thunder 
storm, with a light breeze from the north. 

Antelope and elk were seen during the 
day on the opposite prairie ; and there were 
ducks and geese in the river. 

The next morning, in about three miles 
from our encampment, we reached Smith's 
fork, a stream of clear water, about 50 feet 
in breadth. It is timbered with cotton-v.'ood, 
willow, and aspen, and makes a beautiful 
debouchement through a pass about 600 
yards wide, between remarkable mountain 
hills, rising abruptly on either side, and form- 
ing gigantic columns to the gate by which it 
enters Bear river valley. The bottoms, 
which below Smith's fork had been two 
miles wide, narrowed, as we advanced, to a 
gap 500 yards wide ; and during the greater 
part of the day we had a winding route, the 
river making very sharp and sudden bends, 
the-mountains steep and rocky, and the val- 
ley occasionally so narrow as only to leave 
space for a passage through. 

We made our halt at noon in a fertile bot- 
tom, where the common blue flax was grow- 
ing abundantly, a few miles below the mouth 
of Thomas's fork, one of the larger tribu- 
taries of the river. 

Crossing, in the afternoon, the point of a 
narrow spur, we descended into a beautiful 
bottom, formed by a lateral valley, which 
presented a picture of liome beauty that 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



75 



went directly to our hearts. The edge of 
the wood, for several miles along the river, 
was dotted with the white covers of emi- 
grant wagons, collected in groups at differ- 
ent camps, where the smokes were rising 
lazily from the fires, around which the wo- 
men were occupied in preparing the evening 
meal, and the children playing in the grass ; 
and herds of cattle, grazing about in the bot- 
tom, had an air of quiet security, and civil- 
ized comfort, that made a rare sight for the 
traveller in such a remote wilderness. 

In common with all the emigration, they 
had been reposing for several days in this 
delightful valley, in order to recruit their 
animals on its luxuriant pasturage after their 
long journey, and prepare them for the hard 
travel along the comparatively sterile banks 
of the Upper Columbia. At the lower end 
of this extensive bottom, the river passes 
through an open canon, where there were 
high vertical rocks to the water's edge, and 
the road here turns up a broad valley to the 
right. It was already near sunset; but, 
hoping to reach the river again before niglit, 
we continued our march along the valley, 
finding the road tclerably good, until we 
arrived at a point where it crosses the ridge 
by an ascent of a mile in length, which was 
so very steep and difficult for the gun and 
carriage, that we did not reach the summit 
until dark. 

It was absolutely necessary to descend 
into the valley for water and grass ; and we 
were obliged to grope our way in the dark- 
ness down a very steep, bad mountain, reach- 
ing the river at about 10 o'clock. It was 
late before our animals were gathered into 
camp, several of those which were very 
weak being necessarily left to pass the night 
on the ridge ; and we sat down again to a 
midnight supper. The road, in the morn- 
ing, presented an animated appearance. We 
found that we had encamped near a large 
party of emigrants ; and a few miles below, 
another party was already in motion. Here 
the valley had resumed its usual breadth, 
and the river swept off along the mountains 
on the western side, the road continuing di- 
rectly on. 

In about an hour's travel we met several 
Shoshonee Indians, who informed us that 
they belonged to a large village which had 
just come into the valley from the mountain 
to the westward, where they had been hunt- 
ing antelope and gathering service-berries. 
Glad at the opportunity of seping one of 
their villages, and in the hope of purchasing 
from them a few horses, I turned imme- 
diately off into the plain towards their en- 
campment, which was situated on a small 
stream near the river. 

We had approached within something 
more than a mile of the village, when sud- 



denly a single horseman emerged from it at 
full speed, followed by another, and another, 
in raj)id succession ; and then party after 
party poured into the plain, until, when the 
foremost rider reached us, all the whole in- 
tervening plain was occupied by a mass of 
horsemen, which came charging down upon: 
us with guns and naked swords, lances, and 
bows and arrows, — Indians entirely nakedy 
and warriors fully dressed for war, with the 
long red streamers of their war bonnets 
reaching nearly to the ground, all mingled 
together in the bravery of savage warfare. 
Tliey had been thrown into a sudden tumult 
by the appearance of our flag, which, among 
these people, is regarded as an emblem of 
hostility — it being usually borne by the 
Sioux, and the neighboring mountain In- 
dians, when they come here to war : and 
we had, accordingly, been mistaken for a 
body of their enemies. A few words from 
the chief quieted the excitement ; and the 
whole band, increasing every moment in 
number, escorted us to their encampment, 
where the chief pointed out a place for us to 
encamp, near his own lodge, and made 
known our purpose in visiting the village. 
In a very short time we purchased eight 
horses, for which we gave in exchange 
blankets, red and blue cl«th, beads, knives, 
and tobacco, and the usual other articles of 
Indian traffic. We obtained from them also 
a considerable quantity of berries of differ- 
ent kinds, among which service-berries 
were the most abundant ; and several kinds 
of roots and seeds, which we could eat with 
pleasure, as any kind of vegetable fWod was 
gratifying to us. I ate here, for the first 
time, the /coot/ak, or tobacco root, {Valeriana 
edidis,) the principal edible root among the 
Indians who inhabit the upper waters of the 
streams on the western side of the moun- 
tains. It has a very strong and remarkably 
peculiar taste and odor, which I can corn- 
pare to no other vegetable that I am ac- 
quainted with, and which to some persons is 
extremely offensive. It was characterized 
by Mr. Preuss as the most horrid food he 
had ever put in his mouth ; and when, in the 
evening, one of the chiefs sent his wife to 
me with a portion which she had prepared 
as a delicacy to regale us, the odor imme- 
diately drove him out of the lodge ; and 
frequently afterwards he used to beg that 
when those who liked it had taken what they 
desired, it might be sent away. To others, 
however, the taste is rather an agreeable 
one ; and I was afterwards always glad 
when it formed an addition to our scanty 
meals. It is full of nutriment ; and in its 
unprepared state is said by the Indians to 
have very strong poisonous qualities, of 
which it is deprived by a peculiar process, 
being baked in the ground for about two days. 



fe 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



The morning of the 24th was disagreea- 
bly cool, with an easterly vvind and very 
smoky weather. We made a late start from 
the village, and, regaining the road, (on 
.which, during all the day, were scattered 
the emigrant wagons,) we continued on 
down the valley of the river, bordered by 
high and mountainous hills, on which fires 
are seen at the summit. The soil appears 
generally good, although, with the grasses, 
many of the plants are dried up, probably on 
account of the great heat and want of rain. 
The common blue flax of cultivation, now 
almost entirely in seed — only a scattered 
flower here and there remaining — is the 
most characteristic plant of the Bear river 
valley. When we encamped at night on 
the right bank of the river, it was growing 
as in a sown field. We had travelled during 
the day 22 miles, encamping in latitude (by 
observation) 42^ 36' 56", chronometric lon- 
gitude 111° 42' 05". 

In our neighborhood, the mountains ap- 
peared extremely rugged, giving still great- 
er value to this beautiful natural pass. 

August 25. — This was a cloudless but 
smoky autumn morning, with a cold wind 
from the SE., and a temperature of 45° at 
sunrise. In a few miles I noticed, where a 
little stream crossed the road, fragments of 
scnriated basalt scattered about — the first 
volcanic rock we had seen, and which now 
became a characteristic rock along our fu- 
ture road. In about six miles travel from 
our encampment, we reached one of the 
points in our journey to which we had al- 
ways tooked forward with great interest — 
the famous Beer springs. The place in 
which they are situated is a basin of miner- 
al waters enclosed by the mountains, which 
sweep around a circular bend of Bear river, 
here at its most northern point, and which 
from a northern, in the course of a few 
miles acquires a southern direction towards 
the Great Salt lake. A pretty little 
stream of clear water enters the upper part 
of the basin from an open valley in the moun- 
tains, and, passing through the bottom, dis- 
charges into Bear river. Crossing this 
stream, we descended a mile below, and 
made our encampment in a grove of cedar 
immediately at the Beer springs, which, on 
account of the effervescing gas and acid 
taste, have received their name from the 
voyageurs and trappers of the country, who, 
in the midst of their rude and hard lives, 
are fond of finding some fancied resem- 
blance to the luxuries they rarely have the 
fortune to enjoy. 

Although somewhat disappointed in the 
expectations which various descriptions had 
led me to form of unusual beauty of situa- 
tion and scenery, I found it altogether a 
place of very great interest ; and a trav- 



eller for the first time in a volcanic region 
remains in a constant excitement, and at 
every step is arrested by something re- 
markable and new. There is a confusion 
of interesting objects gathered together in a 
small space. Around the place of encamp- 
ment the Beer springs were numerous ; but, 
as far as we could ascertain, were entirely 
confined to that locality in the bottom. In 
the bed of the river, in front, for a space of 
several hundred yards, they were very 
abundant ; the effervescing gas rising up 
and agitating the water in countless bub- 
bling columns. In the vicinity round about 
were numerous springs of an entirely differ- 
ent and equally marked mineral character. 
In a rather picturesque spot, about 1,300 
yards below our encampment, and immedi- 
ately on the river bank, is the most remark- 
able spring of the place. In an opening on 
the rock, a white column of scattered water 
is thrown up, in form like a,jet-d''eau, to a 
variable height of about three feet, and, 
though it is maintained in a constant supply, 
its greatest height is attained only at regu- 
lar intervals, according to the action of the 
force below. It is accompanied by a sub- 
terranean noise, which, together with the 
motion of the water, makes very much the 
impression of a steamboat in motion ; and, 
without knowing that it had been already 
previously so called, we gave to it the name 
of the Steamboat spring. The rock through 
which it is forced is slightly raised in a con- 
vex manner, and gathered at the opening 
into an urn-mouthed form, and is evidently 
formed by continued deposition from the 
water, and colored bright red by oxide of 
iron. An analysis of this deposited rock, 
which I subjoin, will give you some idea of 
the properties of the water, which, with the 
exception of the Beer springs, is the min- 
eral water of the place.* It is a hot spring, 
and the water has a pungent and disagree- 
able metallic taste, leaving a burning effect 
on the tongue. Within perhaps two yards 
of the jct-d^eau is a small liole of about an 
inch in diameter, through which, at regular 
intervals, escapes a blast of hot air with a 
light wreath of smoke, accompanied by a 
regular noise. This hole had been noticed 
by Doctor Wislizenus, a gentleman who 
several years since passed by this place, and 
who remarked, with very nice observation, 



* ANALYSIS. 




Carbonate of lime . 


. 92.55 


Carbonate of magnesia . 


. 0.42 


Oxide of iron .... 


. 1.05 


Silica ^ 




Alumina > 


. 5.98 


Water and loss ) 










100.00 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



7T 



that smelling the gas which issued from the 
orifice produced a sensation of giddiness 
and nausea. Mr. Preuss and myself re- 
peated the observation, and were so well 
satisfied with its correctness, that we did 
not find it pleasant to continue the experi- 
ment, as the sensation of giddiness which it 
produced was certainly strong and decided. 
A huge emigrant wagon, with a large and 
diversified family, had overtaken us and 
halted to noon at our encampment ; and, 
while we were sitting at the spring, a band 
of boys and girls, with two or three young 
inen, came up, one of whom I asked to 
stoop down and smell the gas, desirous to 
satisfy myself further of its eflects. But 
his natural caution had been awakened by 
the singular and suspicious features of the 
place, and he declined my proposal decided- 
ly, and with a few indistinct remarks about 
the devil, whom he seemed to consider the 
genius loci. The ceaseless motion and the 
play of the fountain, the red rock, and the 
green trees near, make this a picturesque 
spot. 

A short distance above the spring, and 
near the foot of the same spur, is a very re- 
markable yellow-colored rock, soft apd fria- 
ble, consisting principally of carbonate of 
lime and oxide of iron, of regular structure, 
■which is probably a fossil coral. The rocky 
bank along the shore between the Steamboat 
spring and our encampment, along which is 
dispersed the water from the hills, is com- 
posed entirely of strata of a calcareous tufa, 
with the remains of moss and reed-like 
grasses, which is probably the formation of 
springs. The Beer or Soda springs, which 
have given name to this locality, are agree- 
able, but less highly flavored than the Boil- 
ing springs at the foot of Pike's peak, which 
ai'e of the same character. They are very 
numerous, and half hidden by tufts of grass, 
which we amused ourselves in removing 
and searching about for more highly impreg- 
nated springs. They are some of them 
deep, and of various sizes — sometimes seve- 
ral yards in diameter, and kept in constant 
motion by columns of escaping gas. By 
analysis, one quart of the water contains as 
follows : 

Grains. 

Sulphate of magnesia .... 12.10 

Sulphate of lime 

Carbonate of lime 

Carbonate of magnesia 

Chloride of calcium 

Chloride of magnesium 

Chloride of sodmm 

Vegetable extractive maUer, &c. 

26.84 

The carbonic acid, originally contained in 

the water, had mainly escaped before it was 



subjected to analysis ; and it was not, there- 
fore, taken into consideration. 

In the afternoon I wandered about among 
the cedars, which occupy the greater part 
of tiie bottom towards the mountains. The 
soil here has a dry and calcined appearance ; 
in some places, the open grounds are cov- 
ered with saline efflorescences, and there 
are a number of regularly-shaped and very 
remarkable hills, which are formed of a 
succession of convex strata that have been 
deposited by the waters of extinct springs, 
the orifices of which are found on their 
sunimits, some of them having the form of 
funnel-shaped cones. Others of these re- 
markably-shaped hills are of a red-colored 
earth, entirely bare, and composed princi- 
pally of carbonate of lime, with oxide of 
iron, formed in the same manner. Walking 
near one of them, on the summit of which, 
the springs were dry, my attention was at- 
tracted by an underground noise, around 
which I circled repeatedly, until I found the 
spot from beneath which it came ; and, re- 
moving the red earth, discovered a hidden 
spring, which was boiling up from below, 
with the same disagreeable metallic taste as 
the Steamboat spring. Continuing up the 
bottom, and crossing the little stream which 
has been already mentioned, I visited seve- 
ral remarkable red and white hills, which 
had attracted my attention from the road in 
the morning. These are immediately upon 
the stream, and, like those already men- 
tioned, are formed by the deposition of suc- 
cessive strata from the springs. On their 
summits, the orifices through which the 
waters had been discharged were so large, 
that they resembled miniature craters, being 
some of them several feet in diameter, cir- 
cular, and regularly formed as if by art. At 
a former time, when these dried-up foun- 
tains were all in motion, they must have 
made a beautiful display on a grand scale ; 
and nearly all this basin appears to me to 
have been formed under their action, and 
should be called the place of fountains. At 
the foot of one of these hills, or rather on its 
side near the base, are several of these 
small limestone columns, about one foot in 
diameter at the base, and tapering upwards 
to a height of three or four feet ; and on the 
summit the water is boiling up and bubbling 
over, constantly adding to the height of the 
little obelisks. In some, the water only 
boils up, no longer overflowing, and has here 
the same taste as at the Steamboat spring. 
The observer will remark a gradual subsi- 
dence in the water, which formerly supplied 
the fountains ; as on all the summits of the 
hills the springs are now dry, and are found 
only low down upon their sides, or on the 
surrounding plain. 

A little higher up the creek, its banks are 



78 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



formed by strata of a very heavy and hard 
scoriaceous basalt, having a bright metallic 
lustre when broken. The mountains over- 
looking the plain arc of an entirely different 
geological character. Continuing on, I 
walked to the summit of one ot" them, where 
the principal rock was a granular quartz. 
Descending the mountains, and returning 
towards the camp along tlie base of tlie ridge 
which skirts the jdain, I found at the foot 
of a mountain spur, and issuing from a com- 
pact rock of a dark blue color, a great num- 
ber of springs having the same pungent and 
disagreeably metallic taste already men- 
tioned, the water of which was collected 
into a very remarkable basin, whose singu- 
larity, perhaps, made it appear to me very 
beautiful. It is large — perhaps fifty yards 
in circumference ; and in it tbe water is con- 
tained at an elevation of several feet above 
the surrounding ground, by a wall of calca- 
reous tufa, composed principally of the re- 
mains of mosses, three or four, and some- 
times ten feet high. The water within is 
very clear and pure, and three or four feet 
deep, where it could be conveniently meas- 
ured near tlie wall ; and at a considerably 
lower level, is another pond or basin of very 
clear water, and apparently of considerable 
depth, from the bottom of wliich the gas 
was escaping in bubbling columns at many 
places. This water was collected into a 
small stream, which, in a few hundred yards, 
sank under ground, reappearing among the 
rocks between the two great springs near 
the river, which it entered by a little fall. 

Late in the afternoon I set out on my re- 
turn to the camp, and, crossing in the way 
a large field of a salt that was several inches 
deep, found on my arrival that our emigrant 
friends, who had been encamped in company 
with us, had resumed their journey, i:iid the 
road had again assumed its solitary charac- 
ter. The temperature of the largest of the 
Beer springs at our encampment was 65^ at 
sunset, that of the air being 62.5°. Our 
barometric observation gave 5,840 feet for 
the elevation above the gulf, being about 
500 feet lower than the Boiling springs, 
which are of a similar nature, at the foot of 
Pike's peak. The astronomical observa- 
tions gave for our latitude 4-2^' 39' 57", and 
111" 46' 00" for the longitude. The night 
was very stUl and cloudless, and I sat up 
for an observation of the first satellite of 
Jupiter, the emersion of which took place 
about midnight ; but fell asleep at the tele- 
scope, awaking just a few minutes after the 
appearance of the star. 

The morning of the 2Cth was calm, and 
the sky without clouds, but smoky ; and the 
temperature at sunrise 28.5°. At the fiaine 
time, the temperature of the large ]}eer 
spring, where we were encamped, was 56° ; 



that of the Steamboat spring 87°; and that 
of the steam hole, near it, 81.5°. In the 
course of the morning, the last wagons of 
the emigration passed by, and we were 
again left in our place, in the rear. 

Remaining in camp until nearly 11 o'clock, 
we travelled a short distance down the riv- 
er, and halted to noon on the bank, at a. 
point where the road quits the valley of 
Bear river, and, crossing a ridge which di- 
vides the Great Basin from the Pacific wa^ 
ters, reaches Fort Hall, by way of the Port^ 
neuf river, in a distance of probably fifty 
miles, or two and a half days' journey for 
wagons. An examination of the great lake 
which is the outlet of this river, and the 
principal feature of geographical interest in 
the basin, was one of the main objects con- 
templated in the general plan of our survey, 
and I accordingly determined at tiiis place 
to leave the road, and, after having com- 
pleted a reconnoissancc of tlie lake, regain 
It subsequently at Fort Hall. But our little 
stock of provisions had again become ex- 
tremely low ; we had only dried meat suffi- 
cient for one meal, and our supply of flour 
and other comforts was entirely exhausted. 
I therefore immediately dispatched one of 
the party, Henry Lee, with a note to Car- 
son, at Fort Hall, directing him to load a 
pack horse with whatever could be obtained 
there in the way of provisions, and endeavor 
to overtake me on the river. In the mean 
time, we had picked up along the road two 
tolerably well-grown calves, which would 
have become food for wolves, and which 
had probably been left by some of the earli- 
er emigrants, none of those we had met hav- 
ing made any claim to them ; and on these 
I mainly relied for support during our cir- 
cuit to the lake. 

In sweeping around the point of the moun- 
tain which runs down into the bend, the 
river here passes between perpendicular 
walls of basalt, which always fix the atten- 
tion, from the regular form in which it oc- 
curs, and its perfect distinctness from the 
surrounding rocks among which it has been 
placed. The mountain, which is rugged 
and steep, and, by our measurement, 1,400 
feet above the river directly opposite the 
place of our halt, is called the tiheep rock 
— probably because a flock of the common 
mountain sheep {ovis 7nontana) had been 
seen on the craggy point. 

As we were about resuming our march in 
the afternoon, I was attracted iiy the singu- 
lar appearance of an isolated hill with a 
concave summit, in the plain, about two 
miles from the river, and turned ofi" towards 
it, while the camp proceeded on its way to 
the southward in search of the lake. I 
found the thin and stony soil of the plain 
entirely underkid by the basalt which forms 



1843.1 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



79 



the river walls ; and when I reached the 
neighborhood of the hill, the suriace of the 
plain was rent into frequent fissures and 
chasms of the same scoriated volcanic rock, 
from forty to sixty feet deep, but which 
there was not sufficient light to penetrate 
entirely, and which I had not time to de- 
scend. Arrived at the summit of the hiil, 
I found that it terminated in a very perfect 
crater, of an oval, or nearly circular form, 
360 paces in circumference, and 60 feet at 
the greatest depth. The walls, which were 
perfectly vertical, and disposed like mason- 
ry in. a very regular manner, were compos- 
~ed of a brown-colored scoriaceous lava, evi- 
dently the production of a modern volcano, 
and having all the appearance of the lighter 
scoriaceous lavas of Mount ..■Etna, Vesu- 
vius, and other volcanoes. The faces of 
the walls were reddened and glazed by the 
iire, in which they had been melted, and 
which had left them contorted and twisted 
by its violent action. 

Our route during the afternoon was a lit- 
tle rough, being (in the direction we had 
taken) over a volcanic plain, where our pro- 
gress was sometimes obstructed by fissures, 
and black beds composed of fragments of 
the rock. On both sides, the mountains ap- 
peared very broken, but tolerably well tim- 
bered . 

August 26. — Crossing a point of ridge 
which makes in to the river, we fell upon 
it again before sunset, and encamped on the 
light bank, opposite to the encampment of 
three lodges of Snake Indians. They visit- 
ed us during the evening, and we obtained 
from them a small quantity of roots of dif- 
ferent kinds, in exchange lor goods. Among 
them was a sweet root of very pleasant fla- 
vor, having somewhat the taste of preserved 
quince. My endeavors to become acquaint- 
ed with the plants which furnish to the In- 
dians a portion of their support were only 
gradually successful, and after long and per- 
severing attention ; and even after obtain- 
ing, I did not succeed in preserving them 
until the)' could be satisfactorily determined. 
In this portion of the journey, I found this 
particular root cut up into such small pieces, 
that it was only to be identified by its taste, 
when the bulb was met with in perfect form 
among the Indians lower down on the Co- 
lumbia, among whom it is the highly cele- 
brated kamas. It was long afterwards, on 
our return through Upper California, that I 
found the plant itself in bloom, which I sup- 
posed to furnish the kamas root, {camassia 
esculenta.) The root diet had a rather 
mournful effect at the commencement, and 
one of the calves was killed this evening 
for food. The animals fiired well on rushes. 

August 27. — The moming was cloudy, 
with appearance of riin, and the thermome- 



ter at sunrise at 29°. Making an unusually 
early start, we crossed the river at a good 
ford ; and, following for about three hours 
a trail which led along the bottom, we en- 
tered a labyrinth of hills below the main 
ridge, and halted to noon in the ravine of a 
preity little stream, timbered with cotton- 
wood (if a large size, ash-leaved maple, 
with cherry and other shrubby trees. The 
hazy weather, which had prevented any 
very extended views since entering the 
Green river valley, began now to disappear. 
There was a slight rain in the earlier part 
of the day, and at noon, when the thermo- 
meter had risen to 79. 5°^ we had a bright 
sun, with blue sky and scattered cumuli. 
According to the barometer, our halt here 
ar.iongthe hills was at an elevation of 5,320 
teet. Crossing a dividing ridge in the af- 
ternoon, we followed down another little 
Bear river tributary, to the point where it 
emerged on an open green flat among the 
hills, timbered with groves, and bordered 
with cane thickets, but without water. A 
pretty little rivulet, coming out of the hill 
side, and overhung by tall flowering plants 
of a species I had not hitherto seen, fur- 
nished us with a good camping place. The 
evening was cloudy, the temperature at 
sunset 69°, and the elevation 5.140 feet. 
Among the plants occurring along the line 
of road during the day, epinettes des prai- 
ries (grindelia squarrosa) was in considera- 
ble abundance, and is among the very few 
plants remaining in bloom — the whole coun- 
try having now an autumnal appearance, 
in the crisped and yellow plants, and dried- 
up grasses. Many cranes were seen dur- 
ing the day, with a few antelope, very shy 
and wild. 

August 28. — During the night we had a 
thunder storm, with moderate rain, which 
has made the air this morning very clear, 
the thermometer being at 55^. Leaving 
our encampment at the Cane spring, and 
quitting the trail on which we had been 
travelling, and which would probably have 
afforded us a good road to the lake, we 
crossed some very deep ravines, and, in 
about an hour's travelling, again reached 
the river. We were now in a valley five 
or six miles wide, between mountain 
ranges, which, about thirty miles below, 
appeared to close up and terminate the val- 
ley, leaving for the river only a very nar- 
row pass, or canon, behind which we ima- 
gined that we should find the broad waters 
of the lake. We made the usual halt at 
the mouth of a small clear stream, having 
a slightly mineral taste, (perhaps of salt,) 
4,760 feet above the gulf. In the afternoon 
we cUinbed a very steep sandy hill ; and, 
after a slow and winding day's march of 27 
miles, encamped at a slough on the river. 



80 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



There were great quantities of gee.se and 
ducks, of which only a few were .shot ; the 
Indians having probably made them very wild. 
The men employed themselves in fishing, 
but caught nothing. A skunk, {mephitis 
Americana,) which was killed in the after- 
noon, made a supper for one of the messes. 
The river is bordered occasionally with 
fields of cane, which we regarded as an in- 
dication of our approach to a lake country. 
We had frequent showers of rain during the 
night, with thunder. 

August 29. — The thermometer at sunrise 
was 54°, with air from the NW., and dark 
rainy clouds moving on the horizon ; rain 
squalls and bright sunshine by intervals. I 
rode ahead with Basil to explore the conn- 
try, and, continuing about three miles along 
the river, turned directly off on a trail run- 
ning towards three marked gaps in the bor- 
dering range, where the mountains ap- 
peared cut through to their bases, towards 
which the river plain rose gradually. Put- 
ting our horses into a gallop on some fresh 
tracks which showed very plainly in the 
wet path, we came suddenly upon a small 
party of Shoshonee Indians, who had fallen 
into the trail from the north. We could 
only communicate by signs ; but they 
made us understand that the road through 
the chain was a very excellent one, lead- 
ing into a broad valley which ran to 
the southward. We halted to noon at 
what may be called the gate of the pass ; 
on either side of which were huge moun- 
tains of rock, between which stole a little 
pure water stream, with a margin just suf- 
ficiently large for our passage. From the 
river, the plain had gradually risen to an 
altitude of 5,500 feet, and, by meridian 
observation, the latitude -of the entrance 
was 42°. 

In the interval of our usual halt, several 
of us wandered along up the stream to ex- 
amine the pass more at leisure. Within 
the gate, the rocks receded a little back, 
leaving a very narrow, but most beautiful 
valley, through which the little stream 
wound its way, hidden by different kinds of 
trees and shrubs — aspen, maple, willow, 
cherry, and elder ; a fine verdure of smooth 
short grass spread over the remaining space 
to the bare sides of the rocky walls. These 
were of a blue limestone, which constitutes 
the mountain here ; and opening directly on 
the grassy bottom were several curious 
caves, which appeared to be inhabited by 
root diggers. On one side was gathered a 
heap of leaves for a bed, and they were 
dry, open, and pleasant. On the roofs of 
the caves I remarked bituminous exuda- 
tions from the rock. 

The trail was an excellent one for pack 
horses ; but, as it sometimes crossed a 



shelving point, to avoid the shrubbery we 
were obliged in several places to open a 
road for the carriage through the wood. A 
squaw on horseback, accompanied by five 
or six dogs, entered the pass in the after- 
noon ; but was too much terrified at finding 
herself in such unexpected company to 
make any pause for conversation, and hur- 
ried off at a good pace — being, of course, 
no further disturbed than by an accelerating 
shout. She was well and showily dressed, 
and was probably going to a village encamp- 
ed somewhere near, and evidently did not 
belong to the tribe of root diggers.. We 
had now entered a country inhabited by 
these people ; and as in the course of our 
voyage we shall frequently meet with them 
in various stages of existence, it will be 
well to inform you thj^t, scattered over the 
great region west of the Rocky mountains, 
and south of the Great Snake river, are 
numerous Indians who.se subsistence is al- 
most solely derived from roots and seeds, 
and such small animals as chance and great 
good fortune sometimes bring v. ithin their 
reach. They are mi.serably poor, armed 
only with bov,-s and arrows, or clubs ; and, 
as the country they inhabit is almost desti- 
tute of game, they have no means of ob- 
taining better arms. In the northern part 
of the region just mentioned, they live gen- 
erally in solitary families ; and farther to 
the south, they are gathered together in 
villages. Those who live together in vil- 
lages, strengthened by association, are in 
exclusive possession of the more genial 
and richer parts of the country ; while the 
others are driven to the ruder mountains, 
and to the more inhospitable parts of the 
country. But by simply observing, in ac- 
companying us along our road, you will be- 
come better acquainted with these people 
than we could make you in any other than 
a very long description, and you will find 
them worthy of your interest. 

Roots, seeds, and grass, every vegetable 
that affords any nourishment, and every 
living animal thing, insect or worm, they 
eat. Nearly approaching to the lower ani- 
mal creation, their sole employment is to 
obtain food ; and they are constantly oc- 
cupied in a struggle to support existence. 

The most remarkable feature of the pass 
is the Standing roc/:, which has fallen from 
the cliffs above, and standing perpendicularly 
near the middle of the valley, presents it- 
self like a watch tower in the pass. It 
will give you a tolerably correct idea of the 
character of the scenery in this country, 
where generally the mountains rise abruptly 
up from comparatively unbroken plains and 
level valleys ; but it will entirely fail in 
representing the njcluresque beauty of this 
delightful piaQp, where a green valley, full 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



8t 



of foliage, and a hundred yards wide, con- 
trasts with naked crags that spire up into a 
blue line of pinnacles 3,000 feet above, 
sometimes crested with cedar and pine, and 
sometimes ragged and bare. 

The detention that we met with in open- 
ing the road, and perhaps a willingness to 
linger on the way, made the afternoon's 
travel short ; and about two miles from the 
entrance we passed through another gate, 
and encamped on the stream at the junction 
of a little Ibrk from the southward, around 
which the mountains stooped more gently 
down, forming a small open cove. 

As it was still early in the afternoon, 
Basil and myself in one direction, and Mr. 
Preuss in another, set out to explore the 
country, and ascended different neighboring 
peaks, in the hope of seeing some indica- 
tions of the lake ; but though our elevation 
afforded magnificent views, the eye rang- 
ing over a long extent of Bear river, with 
the broad and fertile Cache valley in the 
direction of our search, was only to be 
seen a bed of apparently impracticable 
mountains. Among these, the trail we had 
been following turned sluirply to the north- 
ward, and it began to be doubtful if it would 
not lead us away from the object of our 
destination ; but I nevertheless determined 
to keep it, in the belief that it would event- 
ually bring us right. A squall of rain drove 
us out of the mountain, and it was late 
when we reached the camp. The evening 
closed in with frequent showers of rain, 
with some lightning and thunder. 

August 30. — We had constant- thunder 
storms during the night, but in the morn- 
ing the clouds were sinking to the horizon, 
and the air was clear and cold, with the 
thermometer at sunrise at 39^. Elevation 
by barometer 5.580 feet. We were in mo- 
tion early, continuing up the little stream 
without encountering any ascent where a 
horse would not easily gallop, and, crossing 
a slight dividing ground at the summit, de- 
scended upon a small stream, along which 
we continued on the same excellent road. 
In riding through the pass, numerous cranes 
were seen ; and prairie hens, or grouse, 
{honasia umbellus,) which lately had been 
rare, were very abundant. 

This little affluent brought us to a larger 
stream, down which we travelled through a 
more open bottom, on a level road, where 
heavily-laden wagons could pass without 
obstacle. The hills »on the right grew 
lower, and, on entering a more open coun- 
try, we discovered a Shoshonee village ; 
and being desirous to obtain information, 
and purchase from them some roots and 
berries, we halted on the river, which was 
lightly wooded with cherry, willow, maple, 
service berry, and aspen. A meridian ob- 
6 



servation of the sun, which I obtained here, 
gave 42° 14' 22" for our latitude, and the 
barometer indicated a height of 5,170 feet. 
A number of Indians came immediately 
over to visit us, and several men were sent 
to the village with goods, tobacco, knives, 
cloth, vermilion, and the usual trinkets, to 
exchange for provisions. But they had no 
game of any kind ; and it was difhcult to 
obtain any roots from them, as they were 
miserably poor, and had but little to spare 
from their winter stock of provisions. Sev- 
eral of the Indians drew aside their blankets, 
showing me their lean and bony figures ; 
and I would not any longer tempt them with 
a display of our merchandise to part with 
their wretched subsistence, when they gave 
as a reason that it would expose them to 
temporary starvation. A great portion of 
the region inhabited by this nation formerly 
abounded in game ; the buffalo ranging about 
in herds, as we had found them on the east- 
ern waters, and the plains dotted with scat- 
tered bands of antelope ; but so rapidly 
have they disappeared within a few years, 
that now, as we journeyed along, an occa- 
sional buffalo skull and a few wild antelope 
were all that remained of the abundance 
which had covered the country with animal 
life. 

The extraordinary rapidity with which 
the buffalo is disappearing from our territo- 
ries will not appear surprising when we re- 
member the great scale on which their de- 
struction is yearly carried on. With incon- 
siderable exceptions, the business of the 
American trading posts is carried on in their 
skins ; every year the Indian villages make 
new lodges, for which the skin of the buffa- 
lo furnishes the material ; and in that por; 
tion of the country where they are still 
found, the Indians derive their entire sup- 
port from them, and slaughter them with 
a thoughtless and abominable extravagance. 
Like the Indians themselves, they have 
been a characteristic of the Great West ; 
and as, like them, they are visibly diminish- 
ing, it will be interesting to throw a glance 
backward through the last twenty years, 
and give some account of their former dis- 
tribution through the country, and the limit 
of their western range. 

The information is derived principally 
from Mr. Fitzpatrick, supported by my own 
personal knowledge and acquaintance with 
the country. Our knowledge does not go 
farther back than the spring of 1824, at 
which time the buffalo were spread in im- 
mense numbers o>ipr the Green river and 
Bear river valleys, and through all the 
country lying between the Colorado, or 
Green river of the gulf of California, and 
Lewis's fork of the Columbia river ; the 
meridian of Fort Hall then forming the 



82 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



western limit ol" their range. The bulTalo 
then remained for many years in that coun- 
try, and frequently moved down the valley 
of the Columbia, on botli sides of the river 
as far as the Fishing falls. Below this 
point they never descended in any numbers. 
About the year 1834 or 1835 they began to 
diminish very rapidly, and continued to de- 
crease until 1838 or 1840, when, with the 
country we have just described, they en- 
tirely abandoned all the waters of the Pa- 
cific north of Lewis's fork of the Columbia. 
At that time, the Flathead Indians were in 
the habit of finding their buffalo on the 
heads of Salmon river, and other streams of 
•the Columbia ; but now they never meet 
■with them farther west than tlie three forks 
of the Missouri or the plains of the Yellow- 
stone river. 

In the course of our journey it will be re- 
marked that the buffalo have not so entirely 
abandoned the waters of the Pacific, in the 
Rocky-mountain region south of the Sweet 
Water, as in the country north of the Great 
Pass. This partial distribution can only be 
uccounted for in the great pastoral beauty 
of that country, which bears marks of hav- 
ing long been one of their favorite haunts, 
and by the iact that the white hunters have 
more frequented the northern than the south- 
ern region — it being north of the South Pass 
that the hunters, trappers, and traders, have 
had their rendezvous for many years past ; 
and from that section also the greater por- 
tion of the beaver and rich furs were taken, 
although always the most dangerous as well 
as the most profitable hunting ground. 

In that region lying between the Green 
or Colorado river and the head waters of 
the Rio del Norte, over the Yampah, Koo- 
yah, White, and Grand rivers — all of which 
are the waters of the Colorado — the buffalo 
never extended so fur to the westward as 
they did on the waters of the Columbia ; and 
only in one or two instances have they been 
known to descend as far west as the mouth 
of White river. In travelling through the 
country west of the Rocky mountains, ob- 
servation readily led me to the impression 
that the buffalo had, for the first time, cross- 
ed that range to the waters of the Pacific 
only a few years prior to the period we are 
considering ; and in this opinion I am sus- 
tained by Mr. Fitzpatrick, and the older 
trappers in that country. In the region west 
of the Rocky mountains, we never meet with 
any of the ancient vestiges which, through- 
out all the country lying upon their eastern 
waters, arc found in the great highways, 
continuous for hundreds of miles, always 
several inches and sometimes several feet in 
depth, which the buffalo have made in cross- 
ing from one river to another, or in travers- 
ing the mountain ranges. The Snake In- 



dians, more particularly those low down up- 
on Lewis's fork, have always been very 
grateful to the American trappers, for the 
great klTidness (as they frequently expressed 
it) which tlicy did to them, in driving the 
buffalo so low down the Columbia river. 

Tlie extraordinary abundance of the buf- 
falo on the east side of the Rocky moun- 
tains, and their extraordinary diminution, 
will be made clearly evident from the fol- 
lowing statement : At any time between the 
years 18-24 and 183G, a traveller might start 
from any given point south or north in the 
Rocky mountain range, journeying by the 
most direct route to the Missouri river ; 
and, during the whole distance, his road 
would be always among large bands of buf- 
falo, w'hich would never be out of his view 
until he arrived almost within sight of the 
abodes of civilization. 

At this time, the buffalo occupy but a 
very limited space, principally along the 
eastern base of t!ie Rocky mountains, some- 
times extending at their southern extremity 
to a considerable distance into the plains 
between the Platte and Arkansas rivers, 
and along the eastern frontier of New Mex- 
ico as far south as Texas. 

The following statement, which I owe to 
the kindness of Mr. Sanford, a partner in 
the American Fur Company, will further 
illustrate this subject, by extensive know- 
ledge acquired during several years of travel 
through the region inhabited by the buffalo : 

" The total amount of robes annually 
traded by ourselves and others will not bo 
found to. differ much from the following 
statement : 

Robes. 

American Fur Company, . 70,000 
Hudson's Bay Company, . . 10,000 
All other companies, probably 10,000 



Making a total of ... . 90,000 
as an average annual return for the last 
eight or ten years. 

" In the northwest, the Hudson's Bay 
Company purchase from the Indians but a 
very small number — their only market being 
Canada, to which the cost of transportation 
nearly equals the j)roduce of the furs ; and 
it is only within a very recent period that 
they have received buffalo robes in trade ; 
and out of the great number of bulTalo an- 
nually killed throughout the extensive re- 
gions inhabited by the Camanehes and other 
kindred tribes, no rojjes whatever are fur- 
nished for trade. During only four months 
of the year, (from November until March,) 
the skins arc good for dressing ; those ob- 
tained in the remaining eight months being 
valueless to traders ; and the hides of bulls 
are never taken off or dressed as robes at 
any season. Probably not more than one- 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



83 



third of the skins are taken from the animals 
killed, even when they are in good season, 
the labor of preparing and dressing the 
robes being very great ; and it is seldom 
that a lodge trades more than twenty skins 
in a year. It is during the summer months, 
and in the early part of autumn, that the 
greatest number of buffalo are killed, and 
yet at this time a skin is never taken for the 
purpose of trade." 

From these data, which are certainly 
limited, and decidedly within bounds, the 
reader is left to draw his own inference of 
the immense number annually killed. 

In 18-12, I foimd the Sioux Indians of the 
Upper Platte demontes, as their French 
traders expressed it, with the failure of the 
buffalo ; and in the following year, large 
villages from the Upper Missouri came over 
to the mountains at the heads of the Platte, 
in search of them. The rapidly progressive 
failure of their principal and almost their 
only means of subsistence has created great 
alarm among them ; and at this time there 
are only two modes presented to them, by 
which they see a good prospect for escaping 
starvation : one of these is to rob the settle- 
ments along the frontier of the States ; and 
the other is to form a league between the 
various tribes of the Sioux nation, the 
Cheyennes, and Arapahoes, and make war 
against the Crow nation, in order to take 
from them their country, which is now the 
best bufialo country in the west. This plan 
they now have in consideration ; and it 
would probably be a war of extermination, 
as the Crows have long been advised of this 
state of affairs, and say that they are per- 
fectly prepared. These are the best war- 
riors in the Rocky mountains, and are now 
allied with the Snake Indians ; and it is 
probable that their combination would ex- 
tend itself to the Utahs, who have long been 
engaged in war against the Sioux. It is in 
this section of country that my observation 
formerly led me to recommend the estab- 
lishment of a military post. 

The farther course of our narrative will 
give fuller and more detailed information 
of the present disposition of the buffalo in 
the country we visited. 

Among the roots we obtained here, I 
could distinguish only five or six different 
kinds ; and the supply of the Indians whom 
we met consisted principally of yampah, 
{anethum, gravcolens,) tobacco root, {Vale- 
riana,) and a large root of a species of 
thistle, {circium Virgmianum,) which now 
is occasionally abundant, and is a very 
agreeably flavored vegetable. 

We had been detained so long at the vil- 
lage, that in the afternoon we made only 
five miles, and encamped on the same river 
after a day's journey of 19 miles. The In- 



dians informed us that we should reach the 
big salt water after having slept twice and 
travelling in a south direction. The stream 
had here entered a nearly level plain or 
valley, of good soil, eight or ten miles broad, 
to which no termination was to be seen, 
and lying between ranges of mountains 
which, on the right, were grassy and smooth, 
unbroken by rock, and lower than on the 
left, where they were rocky and bald, in- 
creasing in height to the southward. On 
the creek were fringes of young willows, 
older trees being rarely found on the plains, 
where the Indians burn the surface to pro- 
duce better grass. Several magpies {pica 
Hudsonica) were seen on the creek this 
afternoon ; and a rattlesnake was killed 
here, the first which had been seen since 
leaving the eastern plains. Our camp to- 
night had such a hungry appearance, that I 
suffered the little cow to be killed, and di- 
vided the roots and berries among the peo- 
ple. A number of Indians from the village 
encamped near. 

The weather the next morning was clear, 
the thermometer at sunrise at 44°. 5, and, 
continuing down the valley, in about five 
miles we followed the little creek of our 
encampment to its junction with a larger 
stream, called Roseaux, or Reed river. Im- 
mediately opposite, on the right, the range 
was gathered into its highest peak, sloping 
gradually low, and running off to a point 
apparently some forty or fifty miles below. 
Between this (now become the valley stream) 
and the foot of the mountains, we journeyed 
along a handsome sloping level, which fre- 
quent springs from the hills made occasion- 
ally miry, and halted to noon at a swampy 
spring, where there were good grass and 
abundant rushes. Here the river was forty 
feet wide, with a considerable current ; and 
the valley a mile and a half in breadth ; the 
soil being generally good, of a dark color, 
and apparently well adapted to cultivation. 
The day had become bright and pleasant, 
with the thermometer at 71°. By observa- 
tion, our latitude was 41^ 59' 31", and the 
elevation above the sea 4,670 feet. On our 
left, this afternoon, the range at long inter- 
vals formed itself into peaks, appearing to 
terminate, about forty miles below, in a 
rocky cape ; beyond which, several others 
were faintly visible ; and we were disap- 
pointed when at every little rise we did not 
see the lake. Towards evening, our way 
was som.ewhat obstructed by fields of arte- 
misia, which began to make their appear- 
ance here, and we encamped on the Roseaux, 
the water of which had acquired a decidedly 
salt taste, nearly opposite to a canon gap ia 
the mountains, through which the Bear river 
enters this valley. As we encamped, the 
night set in dark and cold, with heavy rain ; 



84 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NxiRRATIYE. 



[1843. 



and the artcmisia, wliich was here our only 
wood, was so wet that it would not buru. 
A poor, nearly starved dog, with a wound 
in his side (rom a ball, came to the camp, 
and remained with us until the winter, when 
he met a very unexpected fate. 

Scptcmbc?- 1. — The morning was squally 
and cold ; the sky scattered over with 
clouds ; and the night had been so uncom- 
fortable, that we were not on the road until 
8 o'clock. Travelling between Roseaux 
and Bear rivers, we continued to descend 
the vallej', which gradually expanded, as we 
advanced, into a level plain of good soil, 
about 23 miles in breadth, between moun- 
tains 3,000 and 4,000 feet high, rising sud- 
denly to the clouds, which all day rested upon 
the peaks. These gleamed out in the occa- 
sional sunlight, mantled with the snow which 
had fallen upon them, while it rained on us 
in the valley below, of which the elevation 
here was about 4,500 feet above the sea. 
The country before us plainly indicated that 
we were approaching the lake, though, as 
the ground where we were travelling af- 
forded no elevated point, nothing of it as yet 
could be seen ; and at a great distance 
ahead were several isolated mountains, re- 
sembling islands, which they were after- 
wards found to be. On this upper plain the 
grass was everywhere dead ; and among 
the shrubs with which it was almost exclu- 
sively occupied, (artemisia being the most 
abundant,) frequently occurred handsome 
clusters of several species of dicteria in 
bloom. Purshia Iridentata was among the 
frequent shrubs. Descending to the bot- 
toms of Bear river, we found good grass for 
the animals, and encamped about 300 yards 
above the mouth of Roseaux, which here 
makes its junction, without communicating 
any of its salty taste to the main stream, 
of which the water remains perfectly pure. 
On the river are only willow thickets, (5a/;.r 
longifolia,) and in the bottoms the abundant 
plants are canes, solidago, and helianthi, 
and along the banks of Roseaux are fields 
ot'malva rotundifolia. At sunset the ther- 
mometer was at 54^.5, and the evening 
clear and calm ; but I deferred making any 
use of it until 1 o'clock in the morning, 
when I endeavored to obtain an emersion 
•of the first satellite ; but it was lost in a 
bank of clouds, which also rendered our 
usual observations indifferent. 

Among the useful things which formed a 
portion of our equipage, was an India-rub- 
ber boat, 18 feet long, made somewhat in 
the form of a bark canoe of the northern 
lakes. The sides were formed by two air- 
tight cylinders, eighteen inches in diameter, 
connected with others forming the bow and 
stern. To lessen the danger from accidents 
to the boat, these were divided into four 



different compartments, and the interior 
space was sufficiently large to contain five 
or six persons and a considerable weight of 
baggage. The Roseaux being too deep to 
be forded, our boat was filled with air, and 
in about one hour all the equipage of the 
camp, carriage and gun included, ferried 
across. Thinking that perhaps in tlie course 
of the day wc might reach the outlet at the 
lake, I got into the boat with Basil Lajeu- 
nesse, and paddled down Bear river, intend- 
ing at night to rejoin the party, which in 
the mean time proceeded on its way. The 
river was from sixty to one hundred yards 
broad, and the water so deep, that even on 
the comparatively shallow points we could 
not reach the bottom with 15 feet. On 
either side were alternately low bottoms 
and willow points, with an occasional high 
prairie ; and for five or six hours we fol- 
lowed slowly the winding course of the 
river, which crept along with a sluggish 
current among frequent detours several 
miles around, sometimes running for a con- 
siderable distance directly up the valley. 
As we were stealing quietly down the 
stream, trying in vain to get a shot at a 
strange large bird that was numerous among 
the willows, but very shy, we came unex- 
pectedly upon several families of Root Dig- 
gers, who were encamped among the rushes 
on the shore, and appeared very busy about 
several weirs or nets which had been rude- 
ly made of canes and rushes for the purpose 
of catching fish. They were very much 
startled at our appearance, but we soon es- 
tablished an acquaintance ; and finding that 
they Iiad some roots, I promised to send 
some men with goods to trade with them. 
They had the usual very large heads, re- 
markable among the Digger tribe, with mat- 
ted hair, and were almost entirely naked ; 
looking very poor and miserable, as if their 
lives had been spent in the rushes where 
they were, beyond which they seemed to 
have very little knowledge of any thing. 
From the few words we could comprehend, 
their language was that of the Snake In- 
dians. 

Our boat moved so heavily, that we had 
made very little progress ; and, finding that 
it would be impossible to overtake the camp, 
as soon as we were sufficiently far below 
the Indians, we put to the shore near a high, 
prairie bank, hauled up the boat, and cached 
our effects in the willows. Ascending the 
bank, we found that our desultory labor had 
brought us only a few miles in a direct line ; 
and, going out into the prairie, after a search 
we found the trail of the camp, which was 
now nowhere in sight, but had followed the 
general course of the river in a large circu- 
lar sweep which it makes at this place. The 
Sim was about three hours high when we 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



'«5 



found the trail ; and as our people had pass- 
ed early in the day, we had the prospect of 
a vigorous walk before us. Immediately 
where we landed, the high arable plain on 
which we had been travelling for several 
days past terrninated^in extensive low fiats, 
very generally occupied by salt marshes, or 
beds of shallow lakes, whence the water 
had in most places evaporated, leaving their 
hard surface encrusted with a shining white 
residuum, and absolutely covered with very 
small univalve shells. As we advanced, the 
whole country around us assumed this ap- 
pearance ; and there was no other vegeta- 
tion than the shrubby chenopodiaceous and 
other apparently saline plants, which were 
confined to the rising grounds. Here and 
there on the river bank, which was raised 
like a levee above the flats through which 
it ran, was a narrow border of grass and 
short black-burnt willows ; the stream being 
very deep and sluggish, and sometimes 600 
to 800 feet vvide. After a rapid walk of 
about 15 miles, we caught sight of the camp 
fires among clumps of willows just as the 
sun had sunk behind the mountains on the 
west side of the valley, filling the clear sky 
with a golden yellow. These last rays, to 
us so precious, could not have revealed a 
more welcome sight. To the traveller and 
the hunter, a camp fire in the lonely wilder- 
ness is always cheering ; and to ourselves, 
in our present situation, after a hard march 
in a region of novelty, approaching the de- 
bouches of a river, in a lake of almost fabu- 
lous reputation, it was doubly so. A plen- 
tiful supper of aquatic birds, and the inter- 
est of the scene, soon dissipated fatigue ; 
and I obtained during the night emersions 
of the second, third, and fourth satellites of 
Jupiter, with observations for time and lati- 
tude. 

September 3. — The morning was clear, 
with a light air from the north, and the 
thermometer at sunrise at 450.5. At 3 in 
the morning, Basil was sent back with sev- 
eral men and horses for the boat, which, in 
.a direct course across the flats, was not 10 
miles distant ; and in the mean time there 
was a pretty spot of grass here for the 
animals. The ground was so low that we 
could not get high enough to see across the 
river, on account of the willows ; but we 
were evidently in the vicinity of the lake, 
and the water fowl made this morning a 
noise like thunder. A pelican {pelecanus 
onocrotalus) was killed as he passed by, and 
many geese and ducks flew over the camp. 
On the dry salt marsh here, is scarce any 
other plant than salicornia herbacea. 

In the afternoon the men returned with 
the boat, bringing with them a small quan- 
tity of roots, and some meat, which the 
Indians had told them was bear meat. 



Descending the river for about three miles 
in the afternoon, we found a bar to any 
further travelling in that direction — the 
stream being spread out in several branches, 
and covering the low grounds with water, 
where the miry nature of the bottom did 
not permit any fiirther advance. We were 
evidently on the border of the lake, al- 
though the rushes and canes which covered 
the marshes prevented any view ; and we 
accordingly encamped at the little delta 
which forms the mouth of Bear river ; a 
long arm of the lake stretching up to the 
north between us and the opposite moun- 
tains. The river was bordered with a 
fringe of willows and canes, among which 
were interspersed a few plants ; and scat- 
tered about on the marsh was a species of 
uniola, closely allied to U. spicata of our 
sea coast. The whole morass was ani- 
mated with multitudes of water fowl, which 
appeared to be very wild — rising for the 
space of a mile round about at the sound of 
a gun, with a noise like distant thunder. 
Several of the people waded out into the 
marshes, and we had to-night a delicious 
supper of ducks, geese, and plover. 

Although the moon was bright, the night 
was otherwise favorable ; and I obtained 
this evening an emersion of the first satel- 
lite, with the usual observations. A mean 
result, depending on various observations 
made during our stay in the neighborhood, 
places the mouth of the river in longitude 
112C 19' 30" west from Greenwich; lati- 
tude 41° 30'. 22"; and, according to the 
barometer, in elevation 4,200 feet above the 
gulf of Mexico. The night was clear, with 
considerable de\v, which I had remarked 
every night since the first of September. 
The next morning, while we were prepar- 
ing to start, Carson ro3e into the camp with 
flour and a few other articles of light pro- 
vision, sufficient for two or three days — a 
scanty but very acceptable .supply. Mr. 
Fitzpatrick had not yet arrived, and pro- 
visions were very scarce, and difficult to be 
had at Fort Hall, which had been entirely 
exhausted by the necessities of the emi- 
grants. He brought me also a letter from 
Mr. Dwight, who, in company with several 
emigrants, had reached that place in ad- 
vance of ]Mr. Fitzpatrick, and was about 
continuing his journey to Vancouver. 

Returning about five miles up the river, 
we were occupied until nearly sunset in 
crossing to the left bank — the stream, which 
in the last five or six miles of its course is 
very much narrower than above, being very 
deep immediately at the banks ; and we 
had great difficulty in getting our animals 
over. The people with the baggage were 
easily crossed in the boat, and we encamp- 
ed on the left bank where we crossed the 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[184S: 



river. At sunset the thermometer was at 
75°, and there was some rain during the 
night, with a thunder storm at a distance. 

September 5. — Before us was evidently 
the bed of the lake, being a great salt marsli, 
perfectly level and bare, whitened in places 
by saline efflorescences, with here and there 
a pool of water, and having the appearance 
of a very level sea shore at low tide. Im- 
mediately along the river was a very nar- 
row strip of vegetation, consisting of wil- 
lows, hclianthi, roses, flowering vines, and 
grass ; bordered on the verge of the great 
marsh by a fringe of singular plants, which 
appear to be a shrubby salicornia, or a 
genus allied to it. 

About 12 miles to the southward was one 
of those isolated mountains, now appearing 
to be a kind of peninsula ; and towards this 
we accordingly directed our course, as it 
probably afTordod a good view of the lake ; 
but the deepening mud as we advanced 
forced us to return toward the river, and 
gain the higher ground at tlie foot of the 
eastern mountains. Here we halted for a 
few minutes at noon, on a beautiful little 
stream of pure and remarkably clear water, 
with a bed of roc^k in situ, on which was an 
abundant water plant with a white blossom. 
There was good grass in the bottoms ; and, 
amidst a rather luxuriant growth, its banks 
were bordered with a large showy plant, 
{eupatorium purpiircum,) which I here saw 
for the first time. We named the stream 
Clear creek. 

We continued our way along the moun- 
tain, having found here a broad plainly 
beaten trail, over what was apparently the 
shore of the lake in the spring ; the ground 
being high and firm, and the soil excellent 
and covered with vegetation, among which 
a leguminous plant {gbjcT/rrhiza Icpidota) 
was a characterif5tic plant. The ridge here 
rises abruptly to the height of about 4,000 
feet ; its face being very prominently mark- 
ed with a massive stratum of rose-colored 
granular quartz, wliich is evidently an al- 
tered sedimentary rock ; the lines of de- 
position being very distinct. It is rocky 
and steep ; divided into several mountains ; 
and the rain in the valley appears to be al- 
ways snow on their summits at this season. 
Near a remarkable rocky point of the 
mountain, at a large spring of pure water, 
were several hackbcrry trees, {celt is,) prob- 
ably a new species, the berries still green ; 
and a short distance farther, thickets of 
sumach, {rhus.) 

On the plain here I noticed blackbirds 
and grouse. In about seven miles from 
Clear creek, the trail brought us to a place 
at the foot of ■ the mountain where there 
issued with considerable force ten or twelve 
hot springs, highly impregnated with salt. 



In one of tliese, the thermometer stood at' 
130°, and in another at 132°. 5 ; and the- 
waler, which spread in pools over the low 
ground, was colored red.* 

At this place the trail we had been follow- 
ing turned to the left, apparently with tiie 
view of entering a gorge in the mountain, 
from which issued the principal fork of a 
large and comparatively well-timbered 
stream, called Weber's fork. We accord- 
ingly turned off towards the lake, and en- 
camped on this river, which was 100 to 150 
feet wide, with high banks, and very clear 
pure water, without the slightest indication 
of salt. 

September 6. — Leaving the encampment 
early, we again directed our course lor tlie 
peninsular butte across a low shrubby plain,.. 
crossing in tlie way a slough-like creek with 
miry banks, and wooded with thickets of 
thorn (cratcrgus) which were loaded with 
berries. This time we reached the butte 
without any difficulty, and, ascending to the 
summit, immediately at our feet beheld the 
object of our anxious search — the waters of 
the Inland Sea, stretching in still and soli- 
tary grandeur far beyond the limit of our 
vision. It was one of the great points of tJie 
exploration ; and as we looked eagerly over 
the lake in tlie (irst emotions of excited plea- 
sure, I am doubtful if the followers of Balboa 
felt more enthusiasm when, from the heights 
of the Andes, tliey saw for the first time the 
great Western ocean. It was certainly a 
magnificent object, and a noble terminus to 
this part of our expedition ; and to travellers 
so long .shut up among mountain ranges, a 
sudden view over the expanse of silent 
waters had in it something sublime. Sever- 
al large islands raised their high rocky heads 
out of the waves ; but whether or not they 
were timbered, was still left to our imagina- 
tion, as the distance was too great to deter- 
mine if the dark hues upon them were wood- 
land or naked rock. During the day the 
clouds had been gathering black over the 
mountains to the westward, and, while we 
were looking, a storm burst down with sud- 
den fury upon the lake, and entirely hid the 
islands from our view. So far as we could 
see, along the shores there was not a soli- 

* An analysis of the red earthy matter de- 
posited in the bed of the stream from the springs, 
gives the following result : 

Peroxide of iron .... 33.50 
Carbonate of magnesia . . . 2.40 
Carbonate of lime .... 50.43 
Sulphate of lime ... 2.00 

Chloride of sodium . 3.45 

Silica and alumina . . 3.00 

Water and loss .... 5.22 



100.00 



1843.1 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



87 



tary tree, and but little appearance of grass ; 
and on Weber's fork, a few miles below our 
last encampment, the timber was gathered 
into groves, and then disappeared entirely. 
As this appeared to be the nearest point to 
the lake where a suitable camp could be 
found, we directed our course to one of the 
groves, where we found a handsome en- 
campment, with good grass and an abun- 
dance of rushes (equiselum hyemale). At 
sunset, the thermometer was at 55°; the 
evening clear and calm, with some cumuli. 

September 7. — The morning was calm and 
clear, with a temperature at sunrise of 39°.5. 
The day was spent in active preparation for 
our intended voyage on the lake. On the 
odge of the stream a favorable spot was se- 
lected in a grove, and, felling the timber, we 
made a strong coral, or horse pen, for the 
animals, and a little fort for the people who 
were to remain. We were now probably in 
the country of the Utah Indians, though none 
reside upon the lake. The India-rubber boat 
-was repaired with prepared cloth and gum, 
and filled with air, in readiness for the next 
day. 

The provisions which Carson had brought 
with him being now exhausted, and our 
stock reduced to a small quantity of roots, I 
determined to retain with me only a suffi- 
cient number of men for the execution of 
our design ; and accordingly seven were 
sent back to Fort Hall, under the guidance 
-of Francois Lajeunesse, who, having been 
for many years a trapper in the country, was 
considered an experienced mountaineer. 
Though they were provided with good hor- 
ses, and the road was a remarkably plain 
one of only four days' journey for a horse- 
man, they became bewildered (as we after- 
wards learned), and, losing their way, wan- 
'dered about the country in parties of one or 
itvvo, reaching the fort about a week after- 
wards. Some straggled in of themselves, 
and the others were brought in by Indians 
who had picked them up on Snake river, 
about sixty miles below the fort, travelling 
along the emigrant road in full march for 
the Lower Columbia. The leader of this 
adventurous party was Fran9ois. 

Hourly barometrical observations were 
made during the day, and, after departure of 
'the party for Fort Hall, we occupied our- 
selves in continuing our little preparations, 
and in becoming acquainted with the conn- 
try in the vicinity. The bottoms along the 
river were timbered with several kinds of 
willow, hawthorn, and fine cotton-wood trees 
{populus canadensis) with remarkably large 
leaves, and sixty feet in height by measure- 
ment. 

We formed now but a small family. 
With Mr. Preuss and myself, Carson, Ber- 
oier, and Basil Lajeunesse, had beeu select- 



ed for the boat expedition — the first ever at- 
tempted on this interior sea ; and Badeau, 
with Derosier, and Jacob (the colored man), 
were to be left in charge of the camp. We 
were favored with most delightful Vv'eather. 
To-night there was a brilliant sunset of 
golden orange and green, which left the 
western sky clear and beautifully pure ; but 
clouds in the east made me lose an occulta- 
tion. The summer frogs were singing 
around us, and the evening was very plea- 
sant, with a temperature of GGo — a night of 
a more southern autumn. For our supper 
we had yampak, the most agreeably flavored 
of the roots, seasoned by a small fat duck, 
which had come in the way of Jacob's rifle. 
Around our fire to-night were many specu- 
lations on what to-morrow would bring forth, 
and in our busy conjectures v/e fancied that 
we should find every one of the large islands 
a tangled wilderness of trees and shrubbery, 
teeming with game of every description that 
the neighboring region afforded, and which 
the foot of a white man or Indian had never 
violated. Frequently, during the day, clouds 
had rested on the summits of their lofty 
mountains, and we believed that we should 
find clear streams and springs of fresh water ; 
and we indulged in anticipations of the lux- 
urious repasts with which we were to in- 
demnify ourselves for past privations. 
Neither, in our discussions, were the whirl- 
pool and other mysterious dangers forgotten, 
which Indian and hunter's stories attributed 
to this unexplored lake. The men had dis- 
covered that, instead of being strongly sev.-ed 
(like that of the preceding year, which had 
so triumphantly rode the cafions of the Up- 
per Great Platte), our present boat was only 
pasted together in a very insecure manner, 
the maker having been allowed so little time 
in the construction, that he was obliged to 
crowd the labor of two months into several 
days. The insecurity of the boat was sensi- 
bly felt by us ; and, mingled with the enthu- 
siasm and excitement that we all felt at the 
prospect of an undertaking which had never 
before been accomplished, was a certain im- 
pression of danger, sufficient to give a seri- 
ous character to our conversation. The 
momentary view which had been had of the 
lake the day before, its great extent and rug- 
ged islands, dimly seen amidst the dark 
waters in the obscurity of the sudden storm, 
were well calculated to heighten the idea of 
undefined danger with which the lake waa 
generally associated. 

September 8. — A calm, clear day, with a 
sunrise temperature of 41o. in view of our 
present enterprise, a part of the equipment 
of the boat had been made to consist in three 
air-tight bags, about three feet long, and ca- 
pable each of containing five gallons. These 
had been filled vi'ith water the night before. 



88 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



and were now placed in the boat, with onr 
blankets and instruments, consisting of a 
sextant, telescope, spy-glass, thermometer, 
and barometer. 

We left the camp at sunrise, and had a 
very pleasant voyage down the river, in 
which there was generally eight or ten feet 
of water, deepening as we neared the mouth 
in the latter part of the day. In the course 
of the morning we discovered that two of the 
cylinders leaked so much as to require one 
man constantly at the bellows, to keep them 
Buflicienlly full of air to support the boat. 
Although we had made a very early start, 
we loitered so much on the way — stopping 
every now and then, and floating silently 
along, to get a shot at a goose or a duck — 
that it was late in the day when we reached 
the outlet. The river here divided into 
several branches, filled with fluvials, and so 
very shallow that it was v/itli diiftculty we 
could get the beat along, being obliged to get 
out and wade. We encamped on a low 
point among rushes and young willows, 
where there was a quantity of drift wood, 
which served for our fires. The evening 
was mild and clear; we made a pleasant 
bed of the young willows ; and geese and 
ducks enough had been killed for an abun- 
dant supper at night, and for breakfast the 
next morning. The stillness of the night 
was enlivened by millions of water fowl. 
Latitude (by observation) 41° 11' 26'; and 
longitude 11-2° 11' 30" 

September 9. — The day was clear and 
calm ; the thermometer at sunrise at 49°. 
As is usual with the trappers on the eve of 
any enterprise, our people had made dreams, 
and theirs happened to be a bad one — one 
which always preceded evil — and conse- 
quently they looked very gloomy this morn- 
ing ; but we hurried through our breakfast, 
in order to make an early start, and have all 
the day before us for our adventure. The 
channel in a short distance became so slial- 
low that our navigation was at an end, be- 
ing merely a sheet of soft mud, with a few 
inches of water, and sometimes none at all, 
forming the low-water shore of the lake. 
All this place was absolutely covered with 
flocks of screaming plover. We took off 
our clothes, and, getting overboard, com- 
menced dragging the boat — making, by this 
operation, a very curious trail, and a very 
disagreeable smell in stirring up the mud, as 
we sank above the knee at every step. The 
water here was still fresh, with only an in- 
sipid and disagreeable taste, probably de- 
rived from the bed of fetid mud. After pro- 
ceeding in this way about a mile, we came to 
a small black ridge on the bottom, beyond 
whicii the water became suddenly salt, be- 
ginning gradually to deepen, and the bottom 
was eandy and firm. It was a remarkable 



division, separating the fresh waters of the 
rivers from the briny water of the lake,, 
which was entirely saturated with common 
salt. Pushing our little vessel across the 
narrow boundary, we sprang on board, and 
at length were afloat on the waters of the 
unknown sea. 

We did not steer for the mountainous 
islands, but directed our course towards a 
lower one, which it had been decided we 
should first visit, the summit of which was 
formed like tlie crater at the upper end of 
Bear river valley. So long as we could 
touch the bottom with our paddles, we were 
very gay ; but gradually, as the water deep- 
ened, we became more still in our frail ba- 
teau of gum cloth distended with air, ancj 
with pasted seams. Although the day was 
very calm, there was a considerable swell on 
the lake ; and there were white patches of 
foam on the surface, which were slowly 
moving to the southward, indicating the set 
of a current in that direction, and recalling- 
the recollection of the whirlpool stories. The 
water continued to deepen as we advanced ; 
the lake becoming almost transparently 
clear, of an extremely beautiful bright-green 
color : and the spray, which was thrown 
into the boat and over our clothes, was di- 
rectly converted into a crust of common salt, ' 
wliich covered also our hands and arms. 
" Captain," said Carson, who for some time 
had been looking suspiciously at some whit- 
ening appearances outside the nearest 
islands, " what are those yonder ? — won't 
you just take a look with the glass ?" We 
ceased paddling for a moment, and found 
tliem to be the caps of the waves that were 
beginning to break under the fo.'ce of a' 
Strong breeze that was coming up the lake. 

The form of the boat seemed to be an ad- 
mirable one, and it rode on the waves like a 
water bird ; but, at the same time, it was 
extremely slow in its progress. When we 
were a little more than half way across the 
reach, two of the divisions between the cyl- 
inders gave way, and it required the con- 
stant use of the bellows to keep in a suffi- 
cient quantity of air. For a long time we 
scarcely seemed to approach our island, but 
gradually we worked across the rougher sea 
of the open channel, into the smoother water 
under the lee of the island ; and began to 
discover that what we took for a long row 
of pelicans, ranged on the beach, were only 
low cliffs whitened with salt by the spray of 
the waves ; and about noon we reached the 
shore, the transparency of the water enabling 
us to see the bottom at a considerable depth. 

It was a handsome broad beach v.-here we 
landed, behind which the hill, into which 
the island was gathered, rose somewhat ab- 
ruptly J and a point of rock at one end en- 
closed it in a sheltering way ; and as ther6 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



89 



was an abuiidance of drift wood along the 
shore, it offered us a pleasant encampment. 
We did not sutfer our fragile boat to touch 
the sharp rocks ; but, getting overboard, dis- 
charged the baggage, and, lifting it gently 
out of the water, carried it to the upper part 
of the beach, which was composed of very 
small fragments of rock. 

Among the successive banks of the beach, 
formed by the action of the waves, our atten- 
tion, as we approached the island, had been 
attracted by one 10 to 20 feet in breadth, of 
a dark-brown color. Being more closely 
examined, this was found to be composed, 
to the depth of seven or eight and twelve 
inches, entirely of the lanw of insects, or, 
in common language, of the skins of worms, 
about the size of a grain of oats, which had 
"been washed up by the waters of the lake. 

Alluding to this subject some months af- 
terwards, when travelling through a more 
southern portion of this region, in company 
with Mr. Joseph Walker, an old hunter, I 
was informed by him, that, wandering with 
a party of men in a mountain country east 
of the great Californian range, he surprised 
a party of several Indian families encamped 
near a small salt lake, who abandoned their 
lodges at his approach, leaving everything be- 
hind them. Being in a starving condition, 
they were delighted to find in the abandoned 
lodges a number of skin bags containing a 
quantity of what appeared to be fish, dried 
and pounded. On this they made a hearty 
supper: and were gathering around an 
abundant breakfast the next morning, when 
Mr. Walker discovered that it was with 
these, or a similar worm, that the bags had 
been filled. The stomachs of the stout trap- 
pers were not proof against their prejudices, 
and the repulsive food was suddenly reject- 
ed. Mr. Walker had further opportunities of 
seeing these worms used as an article of food; 
and I am inclined to think they are the same 
as those we saw, and appear to be a product 
•of the salt lakes. It may be well to recall 
■to your mind that Mr. Walker was associ- 
ated with Captain Bonneville in his expedi- 
tion to the Rocky mountains ; and has since 
that time remained in the country, generally 
residing in some one of the Snake villages, 
when not engaged in one of his numerous 
trapping expeditions, in which he is cele- 
ibrated as one of the best and bravest leaders 
who have ever been in the country. 

The cliffs and masses of rock' along the 
shore were whitened by an incrustation of 
salt where the waves dashed up against 
them ; and the evaporating water, which had 
been left in holeg and hollows on the surface 
of the rocks, was covered with a crust of salt 
about one-eighth of an inch in thickness. It 
appeared strange that, in the midst of this 
grand reservoir, one of our greatest wants 



lately had been salt. Exposed to be more 
perfectly dried in the sun, this became very 
white and fine, having the usual flavor of 
very excellent common salt, without any for- 
eign taste ; but only a little was collected for 
present use, as there was in it a number of 
small black insects. 

Carrying with us the barometer, and other 
instruments, in the afternoon we ascended to 
the highest point of the island — a bare rocky 
peak, 800 feet above the lake. Standing on 
the summit, we enjoyed an extended view of 
the lake, enclosed in a basin of rugged moun- 
tains, which sometimes left marshy flats and 
extensive bottoms between them and the 
shore, and in other places came directly down 
into the water with bold and precipitous blufls. 
Follovving with our glasses the irregular 
shores, we searched for some indications of 
a communication with other bodies of water, 
or the entrance of other rivers ; but the dis- 
tance was so great that we could make out 
nothing with certainty. To the southward, 
several peninsular mountains, 3,000 or 4,000 
feet high, entered the lake, appearing, so far 
as the distance and our position enabled us 
to determine, to be connected by flats and 
low ridges with the mountains in the rear. 
These are probably the i-slands usually indi- 
cated on maps of this region as entirely de- 
tached from the shore. The season of our 
operations was when the waters were at 
their lowest stage. At the season of high 
waters in the spring, it is probable that the 
marshes and low grounds are overflowed, and 
the surface of the lake considerably greater. 
In several places the view was of unlimited 
extent — here and there a rocky islet appear- 
ing above the water at a great distance ; and 
beyond, everything was vague and undefined. 
As we looked over the vast expanse of water 
spread out beneath us, and strained our eyes 
along the silent shores over which hung' so 
much doubt and uncertainty, and which 
were so full of interest to us, I could hardly 
repress the almost irresistible desire to con- 
tinue our exploration ; but the lengthening 
snow on the mountains was a plain indica- 
tion of the advancing season, and our frail 
linen boat appeared so insecure that I was 
unwilling to trust our lives to the uncertain- 
ties of the lake. I therefore unwillingly re- 
solved to terminate our survey here, and 
remain satisfied for the present with what we 
had been able to add to the unknown geogra- 
phy of the region. We felt pleasure also in 
remembering that we were the first who, in 
the traditionary annals of the country, had 
visited the islands, and broken, with the 
cheerful sound of human voices, the long 
solitude of the place. From the point where 
we were standing, the ground fell off on 
every side to the water, giving us a perfect 
view of the island, which is twelve or thir- 



90 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1S43, 



teen miles in circumference, being simply a 
rocky hill, on which there is neither water 
nor trees of any kind ; althougli the Frenion- 
Ha vermicularis, which was in great abund- 
ance, might easily be mistaken for timber at 
a distance. Tiic plant seemed here to de- 
light in a congenial air, growing in extraor- 
dinary luxuriance seven to eigiit feet high, 
and was very abundant on the upper parts of 
the island, where it was almost the only 
plant. Tliis is eminently a saline slirub ; its 
leaves have a very salt taste ; and it luxuri- 
ates in saline soils, whore it is usually a cha- 
racteristic. It is widely diffused over all this 
country. A chenopodiaceous shrub, v.-hich 
is a new species of obione (O. rigida, Torr. 
tj- Frem.), was equally characteristic of the 
lower parts of the island. These two are 
the striking plants on the island, and belong 
to a class of plants which form a prominent 
feature in the vegetation of this country. 
On the lower parts of the island, also, a prickly 
pear of very large size was frequent. On the 
shore, near the water, was a woolly species 
of phaca ; and a new species of umbelliferous 
plant (li-.plokcmia) was scattered about in 
very considerable abundance. These con- 
stituted all the vegetation that now appeared 
upon the island. 

I accidentally left on the summit the brass 
cover to the object end of my spy-glass ; and 
as it will probably remain there undisturbed 
by Indians, it will furnish matter of specula- 
tion to some future traveller. In our excur- 
sions about the island, we did not meet with 
any kind of animal ; a magpie, and another 
larger bird, probably attracted by the smoke 
of our fire, paid us a visit from the shore, and 
"were the only living things seen during our 
stay. The rock constituting the clifTs along 
the shore where we were encamped, is a tal- 
cous rock, or steatite, with brown spar. 

At sunset, the temperature was 10°. We 
had arrived just in time to obtain a meridian 
altitude of the sun, and other observations 
were obtained tliis evening, which place our 
camp in latitude 41° 10' 42", and longitude 
112° 21 ' 05" from Greenwich. From a dis- 
cussion of the barometrical observations 
made during our stay on the shores of the 
lake, we have adopted 4,200 feet for its ele- 
vatiun above the gulf of Mexico. In the 
first disappointment we felt from the dissipa- 
tion of our dream of the fertile islands, I 
called this Disappoinljiienl island. 

Out of the drift wood, we made ourselves 
pleasant little lodges, open to the water, and, 
after having kindled large fires to excite the 
wonder of any straggling savage on the lake 
ehores, lay down, for the first time in a long 
jonrney, in perfect security ; no one thinking 
about his arms. The evening was extremely 
bright and pleasant ; but the wind rose dur- 
ing the night, und the waves began to break 



heavily on the shore, making our island 
tremble. I had not expected in our inland 
journey to hear the loar of an ocean surf; 
and the strangeness of our situation, and the 
excitement we felt in the associated interests 
of the place, made this one of the most in- 
teresting nights I remember during our long" 
expedition. 

In the morning, the surf was breaking- 
heavily on the shore, and we were up earl/. 
The lake was dark and agitated, and we hur- 
ried through our scanty breakfast, and em- 
barked — having first filled one of the buckets 
with water from the lake, of which it was 
intended to make salt. The sun had risen 
by tlie time we were ready to start ; and it 
was blowing a strong gale of wind, almost 
directly off the shore, and raising a considera- 
ble sea, in which our boat strained very 
much. It roughened as we got away from 
the island, and it required ail the efforts of 
the men to make any head against the wind 
and sea, the gale rising with the sun ; and 
there was danger of being blown into one of 
the open reaches beyond the island. At the 
distance of half a mile from the beach, the- 
depth of water was 16 feet, with a clay bot- 
tom ; but, as the working of the boat was 
very severe labor, and during the operation 
of rounding it was necessary to cease pad- 
dling, during which the boat lost considera- 
ble way, I was unwilling to discourage the- 
men, and reluctantly gave up my intention of 
ascertaining the depth, and the character of the 
bed. There was a general shout in the toat 
when we found ourselves in one fathom, and 
we soon after landed on a low point of mud, 
immediately under the biUte of the peninsula, 
where we unloaded the boat, and carried the 
baggage about a quarter of a mile to firmer 
ground. We arrived just in time for meri- 
dian observation, and carried the barometer to 
the summit of the butte, which is 500 feet 
above the lake. Mr. Preuss set off on foot for 
the camp, which was about nine miles dis- 
tant ; Basil accompanying him, to bring back 
horses for the boat and baggage. 

The rude-looking shelter we raised on the 
shore, our scattered baggage and boat lying 
on the beach, made quite a picture ; and we 
called this the Jishennaii's camp. Lynosiris 
graveolens, and another new species of obi- 
one (O. confertifolia — Torr. c^ Frem.), were 
growing on the low grounds, with interspers- 
ed spots of an unwholesome salt grass, on a 
saline clay soil, with a few other plants. 

The horses arrived late in the afternoon, 
by which time the gale had increased to such 
a height tliat a man could scarcely stand 
before it ; and we were obliged to pack our 
baggage hastily, as the rising water of the 
lake had already reached the point where we 
were halted. Looking back as we rode off, 
we found the place of recent eacampment 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



91 



entirely covered. The low plain through 
which we rode to the dtmp was covered with 
a compact growth of shrubs of extraordinary 
size and luxuriance. The soil was sandy 
and saline ; flat places, resembling the beds 
of ponds, that were bare of vegetation, and 
covered with a powdery white salt, being 
interspersed among the shrubs. Artemisia 
tridentata was very abundant, but the plant* 
were principally saline ; a large and vigor- 
■ ous chenopodiaceous shrub, five to eight feet 
high, being characteristic, with Fiemontia 
vermicularis, and a shrubby plant which 
eeems to be a new salicornia. We reached 
the camp in time to escape a thunder storm 
which blackened the sky, and were received 
with a discharge of the howitzer by the 
people, who, having been unable to see any- 
thing of us on the lake, had begun to feel 
some uneasiness. 

September 11. — To-day we remained at 
this camp, in order to obtain some further 
observations, and to boil down the water 
which had been brought from the lake, for a 
supply of salt. Roughly evaporated over 
the fire, the five gallons of water yielded 
fourteen pints of very fine-grained and very 
wliite salt, of which the whole lake may be 
regarded as a saturated solution. A portion 
-of the salt thus obtained has been subjected 
to analysis, giving, in 100 parts, the following 
proportions : 

Analysis of the salt. 

Chloride of sodium (common salt) . 97.80 

Chloride of calcium 0.61 

Chloride of magnesium ^.24 

Sulphate of soda 0.23 

Sulphate of lime 1.12 



100.00 



Glancing your eye along the map, you will 
see a small stream entering the Utah lake, 
south of the Spanish fork, and the first wa- 
ters of that lake which our road of 1844 
j crosses in coming up from the southward. 
When I was on this stream with Mr. Walker 
( in that year, he informed me that on the 
[ upper part of the river are immense beds of 
rock salt of very great thickness, which he 
had frequently visited. Farther to the south- 
ward, the rivers which are affluent to the 
Colorado, such as the Rio Virgen, and Gila 
river, near their mouths, are impregnated 
with salt by the clifTs of rock salt between 
which they pass. These mines occur in the 
same ridge in which, about 120 miles to the 
northward, and subsequently in their more 
immediate neighborhood, we discovered the 
fossils belonging to the oolitic period, and 
they are probably connected with that form- 
■ation, and are the deposite from which the 



Great Lake obtains its salt. Had we remain- 
ed longer, we should have found them in its 
bed, and in the mountains around its shores. 

By observation, the latitude of this camp 
is 41^ 15' 60", and longitude 112° 06' 43". 

The observations made during our stay 
give for the rate of the chronometer 31". 72, 
corresponding almost exactly with the rate 
obtained at St. Vrain's fort. Barometrical 
observations were made hourly during the 
day. This morning we breakfasted on yam- 
pah, and had only kamas for supper ; but a 
cup of good cofTee still distinguished us from 
our Digger acquaintances. 

September 12. — The morning was clear 
and calm, with a temperature at sunrise of 
32°. Wc resumed our journey late in the 
day, returning by nearly the same route 
which we had travelled in coming to the 
lake ; and, avoiding the passage of Havvthorn 
creek, struck the hills a little below the hot 
salt springs. The flat plain we had here 
passed over consisted alternately of tolerably 
good sandy soil and of saline plats. We 
encamped early on Clear creek, at the foot 
of the high ridf>e ; one of the peaks of which 
we ascertained by measurement to be 4,210 
feet above the lake, or about 8,400 feet above 
the sea. Behind these front peaks the ridge 
rises towards the Bear river mountains, 
which are probably as high as the Wind 
river chain. This creek is here unusually 
well timbered with a variety of trees. Among 
them were birch (betnla), the narrow-leaved 
poplar (populus avgiislifolia), several kinds 
of willow (^salix), hawthorn (craitcgus), al- 
der (ainus viridis), and cerasus, with an oak 
allied to quercus alba, but very distinct from 
that or any other species in the United 
Stales. 

We had to-night a supper of sea gulls, 
which Carson killed near the lake. Although 
conl, the thermometer standing at 47°, mus- 
quitoes were sufficiently numerous to be 
troublesome this evening. 

September 13. — Continuing up the river 
valley, we crossed several small streams; 
the mountains on the right appearing to con- 
sist of the blue limestone, which we had ob- 
served in the same ridge to the northward, 
alternating here with a granular quartz al- 
ready mentioned. One of these streams, 
which forms a smaller lake near the river, 
was broken up into several channels ; and 
the irrigated bottom of fertile soil was covered 
with innumerable flowers, among which were 
purple fields of eupatorium. purpureum, with 
helianthi, a handsome solidago (S. canaden- 
sis), and a variety of other plants in bloom. 
Continuing along the foot of the hilKs, in the 
afternoon we found five or six hot springs 
gushing out together, beneath a conglome- 
rate, consisting principally of fragments of a 
greyish-blue limestone, efflorescing a salt 



92 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



upon the surface. The temperattire of these 
springs was 134°, and the rocks in the bed 
were colored witli a red deposite, and there 
was common salt crystallized on the margin. 
There was also a white incrustation upon 
leaves and roots, consisting principally of 
carbonate of lime. There were rushes seen 
along the road this afternoon, and the soil 
linder the hills was very black, and apparent- 
ly very good ; but at this time the grass is 
entirely dried up. We encamped on Bear 
river, immediately below a cut-off, the canon 
by which the river enters this valley bearing 
north by compass. The night was mild, with 
a very clear sky ; and I obtained a very 
excellent observation of an occultation of 
Tau.' Arietis, with other observations. Both 
iinmersion and emersion of the star were 
observed ; but, as our observations have 
shown, the phase at the bright limb general- 
ly gives incorrect longitudes, and we have 
adopted the result obtained from the emersion 
at the dark limb, without allowing any weight 
to the immersion. According to these ob- 
servations, the longitude is 112° 05' 12", and 
the latitude -11° 42' 43". All the longitudes 
on the line of our outward journey, between 
St. Vrain's fort and the Dalles of the Co- 
lumbia, which were not directly determined 
by satellites, have been chronometically re- 
ferred to this place. 

The people to-day were rather low-spirit- 
ed, hunger making them very quiet and 
peaceable ; and there was rarely an oath to 
be heard in the camp — not even a solitary 
enfant de garce. It was time for the men 
with an expected supply of provisions from 
Fitzpatrick to be in tlie neighborhood ; and 
the gun was fired at evening, to give them 
notice of our locality, but met with no re- 
sponse. 

September 14. — About four miles from 
this encampment, the trail led us down to 
the river, where we unexpectedly found an 
excellent ford — the stream being widened by 
an island, and not yet disengaged from the 
hills at the foot of the range. We encamped 
on a little creek where we had made a noon 
halt in descending the river. The night 
was very clear and pleasant, the sunset tem- 
perature being 67°. 

The people this eveni*iig looked so forlorn, 
that I gave them permission to kill a fat 
young horse which I had purchased with 
goods from the Snake Indians, and they were 
very soon restored to gaiety and good hu- 
mor. Mr. Preuss/aud myself could not yet 
overcome some remains of civilized preju- 
dices, and preferred to starve a little longer ; 
:feeling as much saddened as if a crime had 
been committed. 

The next day we continued up the valley, 
the soil being sometimes very black and 
good; occa?ional]y gravelly, and occasionally 



a kind of naked salt nlains. We found on 
the way this mornin*a small encampment 
of two families of Snake Indians, from whom 
we purchased a small quantity of kooyah. 
They had pilps of seeds, of three different 
kinds, spread out upon pieces of buffalo robe ; 
and the squaws had just gathered about a 
bushel of the roots of a thistle (circium Vir- 
ginianum). They were about the ordinary 
size of carrots, and, as I have previously 
mentioned, are sweet and well flavored, re- 
quiring (jnly a long preparation. They had 
a band of twelve or fifteen horses, and ap- 
peared to be growing in the sunshine with 
about as little labor as the plants they were 
eating. 

Shortly afterwards we met an Indian on 
horseback who had killed an antelope, which 
we purchased from him for a little powder 
and some balls. We crossed the Roscaux, 
and encamped on the left bank ; halting- 
early for the pleasure of enjoying a whole- 
some and abundant supper, and were pleas- 
antly engaged in protracting our unusual 
comfort, when Tabeau galloped into the 
camp with news that Mr. Fitzpatrick was 
encamped close by us, with a good supply of 
provisions — flour, rice, and dried meat, and 
even a little butter. Excitement to-night 
made us all wakeful ; and after a breakfast 
before sunrise the next morning, we were 
again on the road, and, continuing up the 
valley, crossed some high points of hills, and 
halted to noon on the same stream, near seve- 
ral lodges of Snake Indians, from whom we 
purchased about a bushel of service berries, 
partially dried. By the gift of a knife, I pre- 
vailed upon a little boy to show me the koo- 
yah plant, which proved to be Valeriana edu- 
lis. The root, which constitutes the kooyah, 
is large, of a very bright yellow color, with 
the characteristic odor, but not so fully de- 
veloped as in the prepared substance. It 
loves the rich moist soil of river bottoms, 
which was the locality in which I always af- 
terwards found it. It was now entirely out 
of bloom ; according to my observation, 
flowering in the months of May and June. 
In the afternoon we entered a long ravine 
leading to a pass in the dividing ridge be- 
tween the waters of Bear river and the 
Snake river, or Lewis's fork of the Colum- 
bia ; our way being very much impeded, and 
almost entirely blocked up, by compact fields 
of luxuriant artemisia. Taking leave at this 
point of the waters of Bear river, and of the 
geographical basin which encloses the sys- 
tem of rivers and creeks which belong to 
the Great Salt Lake, and which so richly de- 
serves a future detailed and ample explora- 
tion, I can say of it, in general terms, that 
the bottoms of this river (Bear), and of some 
of the creeks which I saw, form a natural 
resting and recruiting station for travellers, 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



9? 



now, and in all time to come. The bottoms 
are extensive ; water excellent ; timber suffi- 
cient; the soil good, and well adapted to the 
grains and grasses suited to such an elevat- 
ed region. A military post, and a civilized 
settlement, would be of great value here ; 
and cattle and horses would do well where 
grass and salt so much abound. The lake 
will furnish exhaustless supplies of salt. All 
the mountain sides here are covered with a 
valuable nutritious grass, called bunch grass, 
from the form in which it grows, which has 
z second growth in the fall. The beasts of 
the Indians were fat upon it ; our own found 
it a good subsistence ; and its quantity will 
sustain any amount of cattle, and make this 
truly a bucolic region. 

We met here an Indian family on horse- 
back, which had been out to gather service 
berries, and were returning loaded. This 
tree was scattered about on the hills ; and 
the upper part of the pass was timbered with 
aspen (jaopulus trem.) ; the common blue 
flowering flax occurring among the plants. 
The approach to the pass was very steep ; 
and the summit about 6,300 feel above the 
sea — probably only an uncertain approxima- 
tion, as at the time of observation it was 
blowing a violent gale of wind from the 
northwest, with cumuli scattered in masses 
over the sky, the day otherwise bright and 
clear. We descended, by a steep slope, into 
a broad open valley — good soil ; from four 
to five miles wide ; coming down immediate- 
ly upon one of the headwaters of the Pan- 
nack river, which here loses itself in swampy 
ground. The appearance of the country 
here is not very interesting. On either side 
is a regular range of mountains of the usual 
character, with a little timber, tolerably 
rock*y on the right, and higher and more 
smooth on the left, with still higher peaks 
looking out above the range. The valley 
afforded a good level road ; but it was late 
when it brought us to water, and we en- 
camped at dark. The northwest wind had 
blown up very cold weather, and the arte- 
inisia, v^'hich was our fire wood to-niglit, did 
not happen to be very abundant. This plant 
loves a dry, sandy soil, and cannot grow in 
the good bottoms where it is rich and moist, 
but on every little eminence, where water 
does not rest long, it maintains absolute pos- 
session. Elevation above the sea about 
6,100 feet. 

At night scattered fires glimmered along 
the mountains, pointing out camps of the 
Indians ; and we contrasted the comparative 
security in which we travelled through this 
country, with the guarded vigilance we were 
compelled to exert among the Sioux and 
other Indians on the eastern side of the 
Rocky mountains. 



At sunset the thermometer was at 50°, and 
at midnight at 30°. 

September 17. — The morning sky was calm 
and clear, the temperature at daylight being 
2.5o, and at sunrise 2Go. There is through- 
out this mountain country a remarkable dif- 
ference between the morning and midday 
temperatures, which at this season was very 
generally 40o or. oOo, and occasionally great- 
er ; and frequently, after a very frosty morn- 
ing, the heat in a few hours would render 
the thinnest clothing agreeable. About noon 
we reached the main fork. The Pannack 
river was before us ; the valley being here I5 
mile wide, fertile, and bordered by smooth 
hills, not over 500 feet high, partly covered 
with cedar ; a high ridge, in which there is a 
prominent peak, rising behind those on the 
left. We continued to descend this stream, 
and found on it at night a warm and comfort- 
able camp. Flax occurred so frequently du- 
ring the day as to be almost a characteristic, 
and the soil appeared excellent. The oppo- 
site hills on the right are broken herp into a 
great variety of shapes. The evening was 
gusty, with a temperature at sunset of 59°. 
I obtained, about midnight, an observation of 
an emersion of the first satellite ; the night 
being calm and very clear, the stars remark- 
ably bright, and the thermometer at 30°. 
Longitude, from mean of satellite and chro- 
nometer, 112° 29' 62" ; and latitude, by ob- 
servation, 42° 44' 40". 

September 18. — The day clear and calm, 
with a temperature of 25"^ at sunrise. After 
travelling seven or eight miles, we emerged 
on the plains of the Columbia, in sight of the 
famous " Three Buties,'' a well-known land- 
mark in the country, distant about 45 miles. 
The French word bulte, which so often occurs 
in this narrative, is retained from the familiar 
language of the country, and identifies the 
objects to which it refers. It is naturalized 
in the region of the Rocky mountains ; and, 
even rf desirable to render it in English, I 
know of no word which would be its precise 
equivalent. It is applied to the detached 
hills and ridges which rise abruptly, and 
reach too high to be called hills or ridges, 
and not high enough to be called mountains. 
Knob, as applied in the v.-estern States, is 
their most descriptive term in English. Cerro 
is the Spanish term ; but no translation, or 
paraphrasis, would preserve the identity of 
these picturesque landmarks, familiar to the 
traveller, and often seen at a great distance. 
Covered as far as could be seen with artemisia, 
the dark and ugly appearance of this plain 
obtained for it the name of the Sage Desert ; 
and we were agreeably surprised, on reach- 
ing the Portneuf river, to see a beautifnl 
green valley with scattered timber spread out 
beneath us, on which, about four miles dis- 



94 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



tant, were glistening the white walls of the 
fort. The Portnenf runs along the upland 
plain nearly to its mouth, and an abrupt 
descent of perhaps 200 feet brought us down 
immediately upon the stream, which at the 
ford is 1 00 yards wide, and three feet deep, 
with clear water, a swift current, and gravelly 
bed ; but a little higher up the breadth was 
only about 35 yards, with apparently deep 
water. 

In the bottom I remarked a very great 
number of s|)rings and sloughs, with remark- 
ably clear water and gravel beds. At sunset 
we encamped with Mr. Talbot and our friends, 
who came on to Fort Hall when we went to 
the lake, and whom we had the satisfaction 
to find all well, neither party liaving met with 
any mischance in the interval of our separ 
ration. They, too, had had their share of 
fatigue and scanty provisions, as there had 
been very little game left on the trail of the 
populous emigration ; and Mr. Fitzpatrick 
had rigidly husbanded our stock of llourand 
light provisions, in view of the approaching 
winter and the long journey before us. 

September 19. — This morning the sky was 
very dark and gloomy, and at daylight it be- 
gan snowing tliickly, and continued ail day, 
with cold, disagreeable weather. At sunrise 
the temperature was 43°. I rode up to the 
fort, and purchased from Mr. Grant (the 
officer in charge of the post) several very 
indifferent horses, and five oxen in very fine 
order, which were received at the camp with 
great satisfaction ; and, one being killed at 
evening, the usual gaiety and good humor 
were at once restored. Night came in 
stormy. 

Seplemher 20. — We had a night of snow 
and rain, and the thermometer at sunrise was 
at 34°; the morning was dark, with a steady 
rain, and there was still an inch of snow on 
the ground, with an abundance on the neigh- 
boring hills and mountains. The sudden 
change in the weather was hard for our ani- 
mals, who trembled and shivered in the cold 
— sometimes taking refuge in the timber, and 
now and then coming out and raking the 
enow off the ground for a little grass, or 
eating the young willows. 

September 21. — Ice made tolerably tliick 
during the night, and in the morning the 
weather cleared up very hrigiit, with a tem- 
perature at sunrise of 29° ; and I obtained a 
meridian observation for latitude at the fort, 
with obscrA'ations for time. The sky was 
again covered in the afternoon, and the ther- 
mometer at sunset 48°. 

September 22. — The morning was cloudy 
and unpleasant, and at sunrise a cold rain 
commenced, with a temperature of 41°. 

The early approach of winter, and the dif- 
ficulty of supporting a large party, determin- 
ed me to send back a number of the men who 



had become satisfied that they were not fitted 
for the laborious service and frequent pri- 
vation to which they were necessarily ex- 
posed, and which there was reason to believe 
would become more severe in the further 
extension of the voyage. I accordingly 
called them together, and, informing tliein of 
my intention to continue our journey during 
the ensuing winter, in the course of wiiich 
they would probably be cx[iosed to considera- 
ble hardsiiip, succeeded in prevailing upon a 
number of thorn to return voluntarily. These 
were : Charles De Forrest, Henry Lee, ,T. 
Campbell, Win. Creuss, A. Vasqucz, A. Pera, 
Patrick White, B. Tesson, M. Creely, Fran- 
9ois Lajeunesse, Basil Lajeunesse. Among 
these, I regretted very much to lose Basil 
Lajeunesse, one of the best men in my party, 
who was obliged, by the condition of his 
family, to be at home in the coming winter. 
Our preparations having been completed in 
the interval of our stay here, both parties 
were ready this morning to resume tlieir 
respective routes. 

Except tbal there is a greater quantity of 
wood used in its construction, Fort Hall very 
much resembles the other trading posts which 
have been al.-cady described to you, and 
would be another excellent post of relief for 
the emigration. It is in tije low, rich bottom 
of a valley, apparently 20 miles long, formed 
by the confluence of Portneuf river with 
Lewis's fork of the Cclr.mbia, which it en- 
ters about nine miles below the fort, and 
narrowing gradually to the mouth of tlie 
Pannack river, where it has a breadth of 
only two or three miles. Allowing 50 miles 
for the road from the Beer springs of Bear 
river to Fort Hall, its distance along the 
Iratelled road from tiie town of Westjiort, on 
the frontier of Missouri, by way of Fort La- 
ramie and the great South Pass, is 1323 
miles. Beyond this ph.ce, on the line of 
road along the barren valley of the Upper 
Columbia, there does not occur, for a dis- 
tance of nearly three hundred miles to the 
westward, a fertile spot of ground sufficiently 
large to produce the necessary quantity of 
grain, or pasturage enough to allow even a 
temporary repose to the emigrants. On 
their recent passage, they had been able to 
obtain, at very high prices and in insuffi- 
cient quantity, only such assistance as could 
be afforded by a small and remote trading 
post — and that a foreign one — which, in the 
supply of its own wants, had necessarily 
drawn around it some of the resources of 
civilisation, but which obtained nearly all its 
supplies from the distant depot of Vancou- 
ver, by a dilHcult water carriage of 250 
miles up the Columbia river, and a land car- 
riage by pack horses of GOO miles. An 
Ameriiian military post sufficiently strong to 
give to their road a perfect security against 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



95 



the Indian tribes, who are unsettled in local- 
ity apd very uncertain in their disposition, 
and which, with tlie necessary facilities for 
the repair of their eqviipage, would be able 
to afford them relief in stock and grain from 
the produce of the post, would be of extraor- 
dinary value to the emigration. Such a 
post (and all others which may be establish- 
ed on the line to Oregon) would naturally 
form the mideus of a settlement, at which 
supplies and repose v/ould be obtained by 
the emigrant, or trading caravans, which 
may hereafter traverse these elevated, and, 
in many places, desolate and inhospitable 
regions. 

I subjoin an analysis of the soil in the 
river bottom near Fort Hall, which will be 
of assistance in enabling you to form some 
correct idea of its general character in the 
neighboring country. I characterize it as 
good land, but the analysis will show its 
precise properties. 



Analyxis of soil. 

Silicina . . . ^ 
Alumina - . - . 
Carbonate of lime - - , 
Carbonate of magnesia - 
Oxide of iron . - - 
Organic vegetable matter 
Water and loss 



68.55 
7.45 
8.51 
5.09 
1.40 
4.74 
4.26 



100.00 



Our observations place this post in longi- 
tude 112° 29' 54", latitude 43° 01' 30", and 
in elevation above the sea 4,500 feet. 

Taking leave of the homeward party, we 
resumed our journey down the valley, the 
weather being very cold, and the rain com- 
ing in hard gusts, which the wind blew di- 
rectly in our faces. We forded the Port- 
neuf in a storm of rain, the water in the 
river being frequently up to the axles, and 
about 110 yards wide. After the gust, the 
weather improved a little, and we encamped 
about three miles belov/, at the moutli of the 
Pannack river, on Lewis's fork, which here 
lias a breadth of about 120 yards. The 
temperature at sunset was 42=' ; the sky 
partially covered with dark, rainy clouds. 

September 23. — The temperature at sun- 
rise was 32° ; the morning dark, and snow 
falling steadily and thickly, with a light air 
from the southward. Profited of being 
obliged to remain in camp, to take hourly 
barometrical observations from sunrise to 
midnight. The wind at eleven o'clock 
set in from the northward in heavy gusts, 
and the snow changed into rain. In the 
afternoon, when the sky brightened, the rain 
had washed all the snow from the bottoms ; 
but the neighboring mountains, from sum- 



mit to foot, were luminously white — an \%r 
auspicious commencement of the autumn, 
of which this was the first day. 

September 24. — The thermometer at sun- 
rise was SS'', and a blue sky in the west 
promised a fine day. The river bottoms 
here are narrow and swampy, with frequent 
sloughs ; and after crossing the Pannack, 
the road continued along the uplands, ren- 
dered very slippery by the soil of wet clay, 
and entirely covered with artemisia bushesj. 
among which occur frequent fragments of 
obsidian. At noon we encamped in a grove 
of willows, at the upper end of a group of 
islands about half a mile above the jhnericart 
falls of Snake river. Among the willows 
here, were some bushes of Lewis and 
Clarke's currant {riles aureum). The 
river here enters between low mural banks, 
which consist of a fine vesicular trap rock, 
the intermediate portions, being compact and 
crystalline. Gradually becoming higher in 
its downward course, these banks of scovi- 
atcd volcanic rock form, with occasional in- 
terruptions, its characteristic feature along 
the whole line to the Dalles of the Lower 
Columbia, resembling a chasm which had 
been rent through the country, and which 
the river had afterward.s taken for its bed- 
The immediate valley of the river is a high 
plain covered with black rocks and artemi- 
sias. In the south is a bordering range of 
mountains, which, although not very high, 
are broken and covered with snow ; and at 
a great distance to the north is seen the high, 
snowy line of the Salmon river mountains, 
in front of which stand out prominently i\ 
the plain the three isolated rugged-looking 
little mountains commonly known as the 
7,^hree Buites, Between the river and the 
distant Salmon river range, the plain is 
represented by Mr. P'itzpatrick as so entirely 
broken up and rent into chasms as to be im- 
practicable for a man even on foot. In the- 
sketch annexed, the point of view is low, hut 
it conveys very well some idea of the open 
character of tlie country, with the buttes 
rising out above the general line. By mea- 
surement, the river above is 870 feel wide, 
immediately contracted at the fall in the 
form of a lock", by jutting piles of scoriaceous 
basalt, over which the foaming river must 
present a grand appearance at the time of 
high water. The evening was clear and 
pleasant, with dew ; and at sunset the tem- 
perature was 54°. By observation, the lati- 
tude is 42° 47- 05", and the longitude 112° 
40' 13'. A few, hundred yards below the 
falls, and on the left bank of the river, is an 
escarpment from which we obtained some 
specimens. 

September 25. — Thermometer at sunrise 
47°. The day came in clear, with a strong 
gale from tlie south, which commenced at 11 



96 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



of the last night. The road to-day led along 
tTie river, which 'is full of rapids and small 
falls. Grass is very scanty ; and along the 
rugged banks are scattered cedars, with an 
abundance of rocks and sage. We travelled 
14 miles, and encamped in the afternoon 
near the river, on a rocky creek, tiie bed of 
which was entirely occupied with boulders 
of a very large size. For the last three or 
four miles the right bank of the river has a 
palisaded appearance. One of the oxen was 
killed here for food. The thermometer at 
evening was at SS**, the sky almost over- 
cast, and the barometer indicated an eleva- 
tion of 4,400 feet. 

September 26. — Rain during the night, 
and the temperature at sunrise 42°. Trav- 
elling along the river, in about 4 miies we 
reached a picturesque stream, to which we 
gave the name of Fall creek. It is remark- 
able for the many falls which occur in a 
short distance ; and its bed is composed of a 
calcareous tufa, or vegetable rock, composed 
principally of the remains of reeds and 
mosses, resembling that at the Basin sprhig 
on Bear river. 

The road along the river bluffs had been 
occasionally very bad ; and imagining that 
some rough obstacles rendered such a detour 
necessary, we followed for several miles a 
plain wagon road leading- up this stream, un- 
til we reached a point whence it could be 
seen making directly towards a low place in 
the range on the south side of the valley, and 
we became immediately aware that we were 
on a trail formed by a party of wagons, in 
company with whom we had encamped at 
Elm grove, near the frontier of Missouri, 
and which you will remember were proceed- 
ing to Upper California under the direction 
of Mr. Jos. Chiles. At the time of their de- 
parture, no practicable passes were known 
in the southern Rocky mountains within the 
territory of the United States ; and the pro- 
bable apprehension of difficulty in attempting 
to pass near the eettled frontier of New- 
Mexico, together with the desert character 
of the unexplored region beyond, had induced 
them to take a more northern and circuitous 
route by way of tlie Su-eet Water pass and 
Fort Hall. They had still between tliem 
and the valley of the Sacramento a great 
mass of mountains, forming the Sierra Ne- 
rada, here commonly known as the Great 
California momitain, and which were at this 
time considered as presenting an impracti- 
cable barrier to wheeled carriages. Various 
considerations had suggested to them a divi- 
sion of the party ; and a gfeater portion of 
the camp, including the wagons, with the 
mail and other stores, were now proceeding 
under the guidance of Mr. Joseph Walker, 
who had engaged to conduct them, by along 
sweep to the southward, around what is 



called the point of the mountain ; and, cross- 
ing through a pass known only to himself, 
gain the banks of the Sacramento by the 
valley of the San Joaquin. It was a long 
and a hazardous journey for a party in which 
there were women and children. Sixty 
days was the shortest period of time in which 
they could reach the point of the mountain, 
and their route lay through a country inhab- 
ited by wild and badly disposed Indians, and 
very poor in game ; but the leader was a 
man possessing great and intimate know- 
ledge of the Indians, with an e.xtraordinary 
firmness and decision of character. In the 
meantime, Mr. Chiles had passed down the 
Columbia with a party of ten or twelve rnen, 
with the intention of reaching the settle- 
ments on the Sacramento by a more direct 
course, which indefinite information from 
hunters had indicated in the direction of the 
head waters of the Riviere aux Malheurs ; 
and having obtained there a reinforcement 
of animals, and a supply of provisions, meet 
the wagons before tliey should have reached 
the point of the mountain, at a place which 
had been previonsly agreed upon. In the 
course of our narrative, we shall be able to 
give you some information of the fortune 
which attended the movements of -these ad- 
venturous travellers. 

Having discovered our error, we imme- 
diately regained the line along the river, 
which the road quitted about noon, and en- 
camped at 5 o'clock on a stream called Raft 
river (Riviere aux Cajeux), having travelled 
only 13 miles. In the north, the Salmon 
river mountains are visible at a very far 
distance ; and on the left, the ridge in which 
Raft river heads is about 20 miles distant, 
rocky, and tolerably high. Thermometer at 
sunset 44°, with a partially clouded sky, and 
a sharp wind from the SW. 

Seple7nber 27. — It was now no longer pos- 
sible, as in our previous journey, to travel 
regularly every day, and find at any moment 
a convenient place for repose at noon or a 
camp at night ; but the halting places were 
HOW generally fixed along the road, by the 
nature of the country, at places where, with 
water, there was a little scanty grass. Since 
leaving the American falls, the road had fre- 
quently been very bad ; the many short, 
steep ascents, exhausting the strength of our 
worn-out animals, requiring always at .such 
places the assistance of the men to get up 
each cart, one by one ; and our progress 
with twelve or fourteen wJieeled carriages, 
though light and made for the purpose, in 
such a rocky country, was extremely slow ; 
and I again determined to gain time by a di- 
vision of the camp. Accordingly, to-day the 
parties again separated, constituted very 
much as before — Mr. Fitzpatrick remainmg 
in charge of the heavier baggage. 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



97 



The morning was calm and clear, with a 
white frost, and the temperature at sunrise 
34°. 

To-day the country had a very forbidding 
appearance ; and, after travelling 20 miles 
over a slightly undulating plain, we en- 
camped at a considerable spring, called 
Swamp creek, rising in low grounds near 
the point of a spur from the mountain. Re- 
turning with a small party in a starving con- 
dition from the westward 12 or 14 years 
since, Carson had met here three or four 
buffalo bulls, two of which were killed. 
They were among the pioneers which had 
made the experiment of colonizing in the 
valley of the Columbia, and which had 
failed, as heretofore stated. At sunset the 
thermometer was at 46°, and the evening 
wus overcast, with a cold wind from the 
SE., and to-night we had only sage for fire 
wood. Mingled with the artemisia was a 
shrubby and thorny chenopodiaceous plant. 

September 28. — Thermometer at sunrise 
40°. The wind rose early to a gale from 
the west, with a very cold driving rain ; and, 
after an uncomfortable day's ride of 25 miles, 
we were glad when at evening we found a 
sheltered camp, where there was an abun- 
dance of wood, at some elevated rocky is- 
lands covered with cedar, near the com- 
mencement of another long cailon of the 
river. With the exception of a short deten- 
tion at a deep little stream called Goose 
creek, and some occasional rocky places, we 
had to-day a very good road ; but the coun- 
try has a barren appearance, sandy, and 
densely covered with the artemisias from the 
banks of the river to the foot of the moun- 
tains. Here I remarked, among the sage 
bushes, green bunches of what is called the 
second growth of grass. The river to-day 
has had a smooth appearance, I'ree from 
rapids, with a low, sandy hill slope bordering 
the bottoms, in which there is a little good 
soil. Thermometer at sunset 45°, blowing 
a gale, and disagreeably cold. 

Se'ptc7nl>er 29. — The thermometer at sun- 
rise 3G°, with a bright sun, and appearance 
of finer weather. The road for several miles 
was extremely rocky, and cons^uently bad ; 
but, entering after this a sandy country, it 
became very good, with no other interrup- 
tion than the sage bushes, which covered the 
river plain so far as the eye could reach, and, 
with their uniform tint of dark grey, gave to 
(he country a gloomy and sombre appear- 
ance. All the day the course of the river 
has been between walls of the black volca- 
nic rock, a dark line of the escarpment on 
the op]x>6ite side pointing out its course, and 
sweeping along in foam at places where the 
mountains which border the valley present 
always on the left two ranges, the lower one 
a spur of the higher ; and, on the opposite 

7 



side, tlie Salmon river mountains are visible 
at a great distance. Having made 24 miles, 
we encamped about 5 o'clock on Rock creek 
— a stream having considerable water, a swift 
current, and wooded with v.'illow. 

September 30. — Thermometer at sunrise 
28°. In its progress towards the river, this 
creek soon enters a chasm of the volcanic 
rock, which in places along the wall presents 
a columnar appearance ; and the road be- 
comes extremely rocky whenever it passes 
near its banks. It is only about twenty feet 
wide wliero the road crosses it, with a deep 
bed, and steep banks, covered with rocky 
fragments, wit'.i willows and a little grass on 
its narrow bottom. The soil appears to ba 
full of calcareous matter, with which the 
rocks are incrusted. The fragments of rock 
which had been removed by the emigrants^ 
in making a road where wo ascended from 
the bed of this creek were whitened with 
lime ; and during the afternoon's march I re- 
marked in the soil a considerable quantity of 
calcareous concretions. Towards evening 
the sages became more sparse, and the clear 
spaces were occupied by tufts of green grass. 
The river still continued its course through 
a trough or open canon ; and towards sunset 
we followed the trail of several wagons which 
had turned in towards Snake river, and en- 
camped, as they had done, on the top of the 
escarpment. There was no grass here, the 
soil among the sage being entirely naked; 
but there is occasionally a little bottom along 
the river, which a short ravine of rocks, at 
rare intervals, leaves accessible ; and by one 
of these we drove our animals down, and 
found some tolerably good grass bordering 
the water. ( 

Immediately opposite to us, a subterranean 
river bursts out directly from the face of the 
escarpment, and falls in white foam to the 
river below. Tlie main river is enclosed 
with mural precipices, which form its charac- 
teristic feature along a great portion of its 
course. A melancholy and strange-looking 
country — one of fracture, and violence, and 
fire. [ 

We had brought with us, when we sepa- 
rated from the cam]), a large gaunt ox, in ap- 
pearance very poor; but, being killed to-night, 
to the great joy of the people, he was found 
to be remarkably fat. As usual at such oc- 
currences, the evening was devoted to gaiety- 
and feasting ; abundant fare now made an 
epoch among us ; and in this laborious life,' 
in such a country as this, our men had but 
little else to enjoy. Tiie temperature at suffli- 
set was 65°, with a clear sky and a very high 
wind. By the observation of the evening, 
the encampment was in longitude 114° 25'| 
04", and in latitude 42° 38' 44". / 

October 1. — The morning clear, with wind^ 
from the west, and the thermometer at 65*'.; 



98 



CAPT. FRExMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



We descended to the bottom, taking with us 
the boat, for the purpose of visiting the fall 
in the opposite cliffy ; and while it was being 
filled with air, we occupied ourselves in 
measuring the river, which is 1,786 feet in 
breadth, with banks 200 feet high. Wo 
•were surprised, on our arrival at the opposite 
side, to find a beautiful ba.sin of clear water, 
formed by the falling river, around which 
the rocks were whitened by some saline in- 
crustation. Here the IndiaTis had construct- 
ed wicker dams, although I was inl'ormed 
that the salmon do not ascend the river so 
far ; and its character below would apparently 
render it impracticable. 

The ascent of the steep hill side was ren- 
dered a little difficult by a dense growth of 
Klirubs and fields of cane ; and there were 
frequent hidden crevices among llie rocks, 
where the water was jioard rushing below ; 
but we succeeded in reaching the main 
stream, which, issuing from between strata 
of the trap rock in two principal l)ranches, 
produced almost immediately a torrent, 22 
feet wide, and white with fo;im. It is a pic- 
turesque 6f)ot of singular beauty ; overshaded 
by bushes, from under which the torrent 
glances, tumbling into the white basin below 
where the clear water contrasted lx?autifully 
with the muddy stream of the river. Its out- 
let was covered with a rank growth of canes, 
and a variety of unusual plants, and nettles 
(uriica canabina), whicli, before they were 
noticed, had net our hands and arms on lire. 
The temperature of the spring was 68°, 
while that of the river was 51°. The per- 
pendicular heigkt of the place at which this 
stream issues is 45 feet above the river, and 
162 feet below the summit of the precipice, 
making nearly 200 feet for the height of the 
wall. On the hill side here, was obtained a 
specimen consisting principally of fragments 
of the shells of small crustacea, and which 
was probably formed by deposition from these 
springs proceeding from some lake or river 
in the highlands above. 

We resumed our journey at noon, the day 
being hot and bright; and, after a march of 
it miles, encamped at siniset on the river, 
near several lodges of Snake Indians. 

Our encampment was alwut one mile be- 
low the Fishing falls, a series of cataracts 
with very inclined planes, which are pruba- 
\)]y so named because they form a barrier to 
the ascent of the salmon ; and the great Hshc- 
rics from which the inhabitants of this bar- 
ren region almost entirely derive a subsist- 
ence commence at this place. These ap- 
peared to bo unusually gay savages, fond of 
loud laughter ; and, in their apparent good 
nature and rnerrv' character, struck me as 
being entirely different from the Indians we 
had been accustomed to .';ee. From several 
who visited our camp in the evening, wo j'Ur- 



chased, in exchange for goods, dried salmon. 
At this season they are not very fat, but we 
were easily pleased. The Indians made us 
comprehend, that when the salmon "came up 
the river in the spring, they are so abundant 
that they merely throw in their spears at rau- 
dom, certain of bringing out a fish. 

These poor people are but slightly pro- 
vided with winter clothing; there ie but lit- 
tle game to furnish skins for the purpose ; 
and of a little animal which seemed to be tho 
most numerous, it required 20 skins to make 
a covering to the knees. But they are still 
a joyous talkative race, who grow fat and be- 
come poor with the salmon, which at least 
never fail them — the dried being used in the 
absence of the fresh. We are encamped 
immediately on the river bank, and with the 
salmon jumping up out of the water, and In- 
dians paddling about in boats made of rushes, 
or laughing around the fires, the camp to- 
night has quite a lively appearance. 

The river at this place is more open than 
for some distance above ; and, for the time, 
the black precipices have disappeared, and 
no calcareous matter is visible in the soil. 
The thennomctcr at sunset 74° ; clear and 
calm. 

October 2. — The sunrise temperature was 
48 ^ ; the weather clear and calm. Shortly af- 
ter leaving the encampment, we crossed a 
stream of clear water, with a variable breadth 
of 10 to 25 yards, broken by rapids, and light- 
ly wooded with willow, and having a little 
grass on its small bottom land. The bar- 
renness of the country is in line contrast to-^ 
day with the mingled beauty and grandeur ^ 
of the river, which is more open than 
hitherto, with a constant succession of falls 
and rapids. Over the edge of Uie black 
clills, and out from their faces, are falling 
numberless streams and springs ; and all 
the line of the river is in motion with the 
play of the water. In about seven miles we 
reached the most beautiful and picturesque 
fall I had seen on the river. 

On the opposite side, the vertical fall is 
perhaps 18 feet high; and nearer, the sheet 
of foaming water is divided and broken into 
cataracts, where several little islands on the 
brink and in the river above give it much 
picturesque beauty, and make it one of those- 
places the traveller turns ag-ainand again to 
lix in his memory. There were several 
lodges of Indians here, from whom we tra- 
ded salmon. Below this place the river 
makes a remarkable bend ; and the road, 
ascending the ridge, gave us a fine view of 
t!ie river below, intersected at many placee 
by numerous fish dams. In the north, about 
50 miles dititant, were some high snowy 
peaks of the Salmon river mountains ; and 
in the northeast, the last peak of the range 
was visible at the distance of perhaps 100 



1S43.] 



GAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



99 



milee or more. The river hills consist of 
very broken masses of sand, covered every- 
where with the same interminable fields of 
sage, and occasionally the road is very heavy. 
We now very frequently saw Indians, who 
were strung along the river at every little 
rapid where fitfh are to be caught, and the 
cry haggai, haggai (fish), was constantly 
heard whenever we passed near their huts, 
or met them in the road. Very many of 
them were oddly and partially dressed in 
overcoat, shirt, waistcoat, or pantaloons, or 
whatever article of clothing they had been 
able to procure in trade from the emigrants ; 
for we had now entirely quitted the country 
where hawk's bells, beads, and vermilion, 
were the current coin, and found that here 
only useful articles, and chiefly clothing, 
were in great request. These, however, are 
eagerly sought after; and for a few trifling- 
pieces of clothing, travellers may procure 
food sufficient to carry them to the Colum- 
bia. 

We made a long stretch across the upper 
plain, and encamped on the bluff, where the 
grass was very green and good ; the soil of 
the upper plains containing a considerable 
proportion of calcareous matter. This green 
freshness of the grass was very remarkable 
for the season of the year. Again we heard 
the roar of a fall in the river below, where 
the water in an unbroken volume goes over 
a descent of several feet. The night is 
clear, and the weather continues very warm 
and pleasant, with a sunset temperature of 
70°. 

October 3. — The morning was pleasant, 
with a temperature at sunrise of 42". The 
road was broken by ravines among the hills, 
and in one of these, which made the bed of 
a dry creek, I found a fragmentary stratum, 
or brecciated conglomerate, consisting of 
flinty slate pebbles, with fragments of lime- 
etoue containing fossil shells. 

On the left, the mountains are visible at 
the distance of twenty or thirty miles, ap- 
pearing smooth and rather low ; but at in- 
tervals higher peaks look ont from beyond, 
and indicate that the main ridge, Vvhich we 
are leaving v/ith the course of the river, and 
which forms the northern boundary of the 
Great Basin, still maintains its elevation. 
About two o'clock we arrived at the ford 
where the road crosses to the right bank of 
Snake river. An Indian was hired to con- 
duct us through the ford, which proved im- 
practicable for us, the water sweeping away 
the howitzer and nearly drowning the mules, 
which we were obliged to extricate by cut- 
ting them out of the harness. The river 
here is expanded into a little bay, in which 
there are two islands, across which is the 
road of the ford ; and the emigrants had 
passed by placing two of their Jieavy wag- 



gons abreast of each other, so as to oppose 
a considerable mass against the body of 
water. The Indians informed us that one 
of the men, in attempting to turn some 
cattle which had taken a wrong direction, 
was carried off by the current and drowned. 
Since their pass;ige, the water had risen 
considerably ; but, fortunately, we had a 
resource in a boat, which was filled with air 
and launched ; and at seven o'clock we were 
safely encamped on the opposite bank, the 
animals swimming across, and the carnage, 
hov/itzer, and baggage of the camp, being 
carried over in the boat. At the place 
where we crossed, above the islands, the 
rivef had narrowed to a breadth of 1,049 
feet by measurement, the greater portion of 
which was from six to eight feet deep. We 
were obliged to make our camp where we 
landed, among the Indian lodges, which 
are semi-circular huts made of willow, 
thatched over with straw, and open to the 
sunny south. By observation, the latitude 
of our encampment on the right bank of 
the river was 42° 65' 58"; chronometric 
longitude 115° 04' 46", and the travelled 
distance from Fort Hall 208 miles. 

October 4. — Calm pleasant day, with the 
thermometer at sunrise at 47°. Leaving 
the river at a considerable distance to the 
left, and following up the bed of a rocky 
creek, with occasional holes of water, in 
about six miles we ascended, by a long and 
rather steep hill, to a plain 600 feet above 
the river, over which we continued to travel 
during the day, having a broken ridge -^,000 
or 3,000 feet high on the right. The plain 
terminates, where we ascended, in an es- 
carpment of vesicular trap rock, which sup- 
plies the fragments of the creek below. The 
sky clouded over, with a strong wind from 
the northwest, with a few drops of rain and 
occasional sunlight, threatening a change. 

Artemisia still covers the plain, but Pwr- 
shia tridentata makes its appearance here on 
the hill sides and on bottoms of the creeks 
— quite a tree in size, and larger than the 
artemisia. We crossed several hollows 
with a little water in them, and improved 
grass ; and, turning off from the road in the 
afternoon in search of water, travelled about 
three miles up the bed of a willow creek, 
towards the mountain, and found a good 
encampment, with wood and greiss, and little 
ponds of water in the bed of the creek ; 
which must be of more importance at other 
seasons, as we found there several old fix- 
tures for fishing. There were many holes 
on the creek prairie, which had been made 
by the diggers in search of roots. 

Wind increased to a violent gale from the 
N.W., with a temperature at sunset of 67o. 

October 5. — The morning was calm and 
clear, and at sunrise the thermometer was 



100 



CAIT. FREMONT»S NARRATIVE, 



[1843. 



at 33'=. The road to-day was occasionally 
extremely rocky, with hard volcanic frag- 
ments, and our travelling very slow. In 
about nine miles the road brought us to a 
group of smoking hot springs, with a tem- 
perature of 1G4". There were a few heli- 
anthi in bloom, with some other low plants, 
, and the place was green round about ; the 
ground warm, and the air pleasant, with a 
summer atmosphere that was very grateful 
in a day of high and cold searching wind. 
The rocks were covered with a white and 
Ted incrustation ; and the water has on the 
tongue the same unpleasant effect as that of 
the Basin spring on Bear river. They form 
several branches, and bubble up witii force 
enough to raise the small pebbles several 
inches. 

The following is an analysis of the depo- 
sit with which tiie rocks are incrusted : 



Analasii 






Silica 


- 


72.65 


Carbonate of lime 


- 


14.60 


Carbonate of magneeia 


- 


1.20 


Oxide of iron 


- 


4.65 


Alumina - . - 


- 


0.70 


Chloride of sodium, &c. 


s 


s 


Sulphate of soda 


1.10 


Sulphate of lime, &-c. 




Organic vegetable matter 


I 


5.20 


Water and loss 


i 




100.00 



These springs are near the foot of the' ridge 
(a dark and rugged looking mountain), in 
which some of the nearer rocks have a red- 
dish appearance, and probably consist of a 
reddish-brown trap, fragments of wliich were 
scattered along the road after leaving the 
spring. The road was now about to cross 
the point of this mountain, which we judged 
to be a spur from the Salmon river range. We 
crossed a small creek, and encamped about 
sunset on a stream, which i'^ probably Lake 
river. This is a small stn:am, s^me five or 
six feet broad^ with a swift current, timbered 
principally with willows and some few cot- 
tonwoods. Along the banks weie canes, 
rose buslles, and clematis, with Purehia tri- 
dentata and artemisias on the upper bottom. 
The sombre appearance of the country is 
somewhat relieved in coming unexpectedly 
from the dark rocks upon these green and 
wooded watercourses, sunk in chasms ; and, 
in the spring, the contrasted effect must make 
them beautiful. 

The thermometer at sunset 47°, and the 
night threatening snow. 

October 6. — The morning warm, the ther- 
mometer 46" at sunrise, and sky entirely 
clouded. After travelling about three miles 



over an extremely rocky road, the volcanic 
fragments began to disappear ; and, entering 
among the hills at the point of the mountain, 
we found ourselves suddenly in a granite 
country. Here, the character of tlie vege- 
tation was very much changed ; the artcmi*>ia 
disappeared .almost entirely, showing only at 
intervals towards the close of the day, and 
was replaced by Purshia tridentata, with flow- 
ering .shrubs, and small fields o^dieieria diccn- 
cuLa, which gave bloom and gaiety to the hilJK. 
These were everywhere covered with a fresh 
and green short grass, like that of the early 
spring. This is the iall or second growth, 
the dried grass having been burnt off by the 
Indians ; and wherever the fire has passed, 
the bright-green color is universal. The soil 
among t!ie hills is altogether difterent from 
that of the river plain, being in many places 
black, in others sandy and gravelly, but of a 
firm and good character, appearing to result 
from the decomposition of the granite roclu;, 
which is proceeding rapidly. 

In quitting for a time the artemisia (sage) 
through which we had been so long voyag- 
ing, and the sombre appearance of which ie 
so discouraging, I have to remark, that I 
have been informed that in Mexico wheat ia 
grown upon the ground which produces this 
shrub ; which, if true, relieves the soil from 
the character of sterility imputed to it. Be 
this as it may, there is no dispute about tho 
grass, which is almost universal on the hills 
and mountains, and always nutritious, evee 
in its dry state. We passed on the way 
masses of granite on the slope of a spur, 
which was very much weathered and abrad- 
ed. This is a white feldspathic granite, with 
small scales of black mica ; smoky quartz 
and garnets appear to constitute this portion 
of the mountain. 

The road at noon reached a broken ridge, 
on which were scattered many boulders or 
blocks of granite ; and, passing very small 
streams, where, with a little more than the 
usual limber, was sometimes gathered a little 
wilderness of plants, we encamped on a 
small stream, after a march of 22 niiles, in 
company with a few Indians. Temperature 
at sunset 51° ; and the night was partiaily 
clear, with a few stars visible tliroiigli uilit- 
ing white clouds. The Indians made an un- 
succes.sful attempt to steal a few horses from 
us — a thing of course with them, and to pre- 
vent which the traveller is on perpetual 
v/atch. 

October 7. — The day was bright, clear, 
plf asant, with a temperature of 46° ; and we 
breakfasted at sunrise, the birds singing in 
the trees as merrily as if we were in the 
midst of summer. On the upper edge of the 
hills on the opposite side of the creek, the 
black volcaaic rock reappears ; and ascend- 
ing these, the road passed through a basin. 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



101 



around which the hills swept in such a man- 
ner as to give it the appearance of an old 
crater. Here were strata and broken beds 
of black scoriated rock, and hills composed 
of the same, on the summit of one of which 
tljere was an opening resembling a rent. 
We travelled to-day through a country re- 
Bcmbling that of yesterday, where, although 
the surface was hilly, the road was good, be- 
ing firm, and entirely free from rocks and 
artemisia. To our left, below, was the great 
eage plain ; and on the right were the near 
mountain?, which presented a smoothly 
broken character, or rather a surface waved 
into numberless hills. The road was occa- 
sionally enlivened by meeting Indians, and 
the day was extremely beautiful and pleas- 
ant •, and we were pleased to be free from the 
sage, even for a day. When we had trav- 
elled about 8 miles, we were nearly opposite 
to the highest portion of the mountains on 
tlie left side of the Smoke river valley ; and, 
continuing on a few miles beyond, we came 
suddenly in sight of the broad green line of 
the valley of the Riviere. Bois^e (wooded 
river), black near the gorge where it de- 
bouches into the plains, with high precipices 
of basalt, between walls of which it passes, 
on emerging from the mountains. Follow- 
ing with tlie eye its upward course, it ap- 
pears to be shut in among lofty mountains, 
confining its valley in a very rugged country. 

Descending the hills, after travelling a few 
miles along the high plain, the road brought 
Tts down upon the bottoms of the river, 
•which is a beautiful rapid stream, with clear 
mountain water, and, as the name indicates, 
■well wooded with some varieties of timber — 
among which are handsome cotton,vvoods. 
Such a stream had become quite a novelty 
in this country, and we were delighted this 
afternoon to make a pleasant camp under fine 
old trees again. There were several Indian 
encampments scattered along the river ; and 
a. number of their inhabitants, in the course 
of the evening, came to the camp on horse- 
back with dried and fresh fish to trade. The 
evening was clear, and the temperature at 
Bunset 67*. 

At the time oF the first occupation of this 
region by parties engaged in the fur trade, a 
Bmall party of men under the command of 

Reid, constituting all the garrison of a 

little fort on this river, were surprised and 
massacred by the Indians ; and to this event 
the stream owes its occasional name oiRmfs 
river. 

^ On the 8th we travelled about 26 miles, the 
ridge on the right having scattered pines on 
the upper parts ; and, continuing the next 
day our road along the river bottom, after a 
day's travel of 24 miles we encamped in the 
evening on the right bank of the river, a mile 
above the raoiith, and early the Tic:i.t rooming 



arrived at Fort Boi.sd. This is a simple 
dwelling-house on the right bank of Snake 
river, about a mile below the mouth of 
Riviere Boissee ; and on our arrival we were 
received with an agreeable hospitality by Mr. 
Payette, an officer of the Hudson B;i,y Com- 
pany, in charge of the fort ; all of whose 
garrison consisted in a Canadian eiiga^S. 

Here the road recrosses the river, which is 
broad and deep; but, with our good boat, 
aided by two canoes, which were found at tlie 
place, tlie camp was very soon transferred to 
the left bank. Here we found ourselves 
acain surrounded by the sage ; artemi.sia tri- 
dentata,and the different shrubs which during 
our voyage had always made their appear- 
ance abundantly on saline soils, being here 
the prevailing and almost the only plants. 
Among them the surface was covered with 
the usual saline efilorescences, which here 
consist almost entirely of carbonate of soda, 
with a small portion of chloride of sodium. 
Mr. Payette had made but slight uttempts 
at cultivation, his efforts being limited to 
raising a few vegetables, in which he suc- 
ceeded tolerably well ; the post being princi- 
pally supported by salmon. He was very 
hospitable and kind to us, and we made a 
sensible impression upon all his comestibles ; 
but our principal inroad was into the dairy, 
which was abundantly supplied, stock appear- 
ing to thrive extremely well ; and we had an 
unusual luxury in a present of fresh butter, 
which wa?, however, by no means equal to 
that of Fort Hall — probably from some acci- 
dental cause. During the day we remained 
here, there were considerable numbers of 
miserable half-naked Indians around the fort, 
who had arrived from the neighboring moun- 
tains. During the summer, the only sub- 
sistence of these people is derived from the 
salmon, of which they are not provident 
enough to lay up a sufficient store for the 
winter, during which many of them die from 
absolute starvation. 

Many little accounts and scattered histo- 
ries, together with an acquaintance which I 
gradually acquired of their modes of life, had 
left the aboriginal inhabitants of this vast re- 
gion pictured in my mind as a race of people 
whose great and conslant occupation wad tha 
means of procuring a subsistence; and though 
want of space, and other reasons, will prevent 
me from detailing the many incidents which 
made these things familiar to me, this great 
feature among the characteristics of th^, 
country will gradually be forced upon your 
mind. 

pointing to a group of Indians who had 
just arrived from the mountains on the left 
side of the valley, and who were regarding 
our usual appliances of civilisation with an 
air of bewildered curiosity, Mr. Payette in- 
formed me that, every year since bis arrival 



102 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



at tliis post, he had unsuccessfully endeavor- 
ed to induce these people to lay up a store 
of salmon for their winter provision. While 
the summer weather and the salmon lasted, 
they lived contentedly and happily, scattered 
along the ditl:e rent streams where the fish were 
to be found ; and as soon as the winter snows 
began to fall, little smokes would bo seen 
rising among the mountains, where they 
would be found in miserable groups, starving 
out the winter; and sometimes, according to 
the general belief, reduced to the horror of 
cannibalism — the strong, of course, preying 
on the weak. Certain it is, thoy are driven 
to any extremity for food, and eat every in- 
.sect, and every creeping thing, however 
loathsome and repulsive. Snails, lizards, 
ants — all are devoured with the readiness 
and greediness of mere animals. 

In common with all the other Indians we 
had encountered since reaching the Pacific 
waters, these people use the Shoshonee or 
Snake language, which you will have occa- 
sion to remark, in the course of the narra- 
tive, is the universal language over a very 
extensive region. 

On the evening of the 10th, I obtained, 
with the usual observations, a very excellent 
emersion of the first satellite, agreeing very 
nearly with the chronometer. From these 
observations, the longitude of the fort is 
116^ 47' 00", latitude 43° 49' 22", and 
elevation above the sea 2,100 feet. 

Sitting by the fire on the river bank, and 
■waiting for the immersion of l!ie satellite, 
which did not take place until after midnight, 
we heard the monotonous song of t!ie In- 
dians, with which they accompany a certain 
game of which they are very fond. Of the 
poetry we could not judge, but the music was 
miserable. 

October 11. — The morning was clear, with 
a light breeze from the east, and a tempera- 
ture at sunrise of 33°. A part of a bullock 
purchased at the fort, together with the boat 
to assist him in crossing, was left here for 
Mr. Fitzpatrick, and at 1 1 o'clock we re- 
sumed our journey; and directly leaving the 
river, and crnscjng the artemi^ia plnin, in 
several ascents we reached the foot of a 
ridge, where the road entered a dry sandy 
hollow, up which it continued to the head; 
and, crossing a dividing ridge, entcied a 
similar one. We met here two poor emi- 
grants (Irishmen), who had lost tlieir horses 
two days since — probably stolen by the In- 
dians ; and were returning to the fort, in 
hopes to hear something of them there. 
They had recently had nothing to eat ; and I 
halted to impack an animal, and gave them 
meat for their dinner. In this hollow, the 
artemisia is partially displaced on the liill 
sides by grass ; and descending it — miles, 



about sunset we reached the Riviere atix 
Malheurs (the unfortunate or unlucky river), 
a considerable stream, with an average 
breadth of 50 feet, and, at this time, 18 inches 
depth of water. 

The bottom lands were generally one and 
a half mile broad, covered principally with 
long dry grass ; and we had difficulty to find 
sufficient good grass for the camp. With 
the exception of a bad place of a few hundred 
yards long, which occurred in rounding a 
point of hill to reach the ford of the river, 
the road during the day h.ad been very good. 

October 12. — The morning was clear and 
calm, and the thermometer at sunrise 23". 
My attention was attracted by a smoke on the 
riglit side of the river, a little below the ford, 
where I found on the low bank, near the wa- 
ter, a considerable number of hot springs, in 
v.'hich the temperature of the water was 193°. 
The ground, which was too hot for the naked 
foot, was covered above and below the springs 
with an incrustation of common salt, very 
white and good, and fine-grained. 

Ijcading for 5 miles up a broad dry branch 
of the Malheurs river, the road entered a 
sandy hollow, where the surface was ren- 
dered firm by the admixture of other rock ; 
being good and level until arriving near Iho 
head of the ravine, where it became a little 
rocky, and we met with a number of sharp 
ascents over an unduhiUng surface. Cro^^s- 
ing here a dividing ridge, it became an ex- 
cellent road of gradual descent down a very 
marked hollow ; in which, after 10 miles, 
willows began to appear in the dry bed of a 
head of the Rhicre aux Bnvhaux (Birch 
river) ; and descending 7 miles, we found, 
at its 'junction v/ith another branch, a little 
water, not very good or abundant, but suffi- 
cient in case of necessity for a comp. Cross- 
ing Birch river, we continued for about 4 
miles across a point- of hill ; the country on 
the left being entirely mountainous, with no 
level spot to be sei^n ; whence we descended 
to Snake river — here a fine-looking stream, 
with a large body of water and a smooth 
current ; although we hear the roar, and &ee 
Ijelow us the commencement of rapids where 
it enters among the hills. It forms here a 
deep bay, with a low sand it-^land in the 
midst ; and its course among the mountains 
is agreeably exchanged for the black vol- 
canic rock. The weather during the day 
had been very bright and extremely hot; 
but, as usual, so soon as the sun went down, 
it was necessary to put on overcoats. 

I obtained this evening an observation of 
an emersion of the first satellite, and onr ob- 
servations of the evening place this encamp- 
ment in latitude 44° 17' 36", and longitude 
116° 56' 46", which is the mean of the re- 
sults from the satellite and chronometer. 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



103 



The elevation above the sea 1 ,880 feet. At 
this encampment, the grass Ib scanty and 
poor. 

October 13. — The morning was bright, 
with the temperature at sunrise 28°. The 
horses had strayed off during tlie niglit, pro- 
bably in search of grass ; and, after a con- 
siderable delay, we had succeeded in finding 
all but two, when, about 9 o'clock, we heard 
the sound of an Indian song and drum ap- 
proaching ; and shortly after, three Cayuse 
Indians appeared in sight, bringing with 
them the two animals. They belonged to a 
party which had been on a bufi'aio hunt in 
the neighborhood of the Rocky mountains, 
and were hurrying home in advance. We 
presented them with some tobacco, and other 
things, with whicli they api)oarcd well satis- 
fied, and, moderating their pace, travelled in 
company with us. 

We were now about to leave the valley of 
the great southern branch of the Columbia 
river, to which the absence of timber, and 
the scarcity of water, give the appearance of 
a desert, to enter a mountainous region 
where the soil is good, and in which the face 
of the country is covered with nutritious 
grasses and dense forest — land embracing 
many varieties of trees peculiar to the coun- 
try, and on whicIi the timber exhibits a lux- 
uriance of growth unknown to the eastern 
part of the continent and to Europe. This 
mountainous region connects itself in the 
southward and westward with the elevated 
country belonging to the Cascade or Califor- 
nia range ; and, as will be remarked in the 
course of the narrative, forms the eastern 
limit of the fertile and timbered lands along 
the desert and mountainous region included 
within the Great Basin — a term which I ap- 
ply to the intermediate region between the 
Rocky mountains and the ne.xt range, con- 
taining many lakes, with their own system 
of rivers and creeks (of which the Great 
Salt is the principal), and which have no 
connection with the ocean, or the great 
rivers which flow into it. This Great Basin 
is yet to be adequately explored. And liere, 
on quitting the banks of a sterile river, to 
enter on arable mountains, the remark may 
be made, that, on this western slope of our 
continent, the usual order or distribution of 
good and bad soil is often reversed ; the 
river and creek bottoms being often sterile, 
and darkened with the gloomy and barren 
artemisia ; while the mountain is often fer- 
tile, and covered with rich grass, pleasant to 
the eye, and good for flocks and herds. 

Leaving entirely the Snake river, which 
is said henceforth to pursue its couree 
through canons, amidst rocliy and impracti- 
cable mountains, where there is no possibili- 
ty of travelling with animals, we ascended a 
long aud somewhat steep hill ; and crossing 



the dividing ridge, came down into the val- 
ley of Burnt river, which here looks like a 
hole among the hills. The average breadth 
of the stream here is 30- feet; it is well 
fringed with the usual small timber ; and the 
soil in the bottoms is good, with better grass 
than we had lately been accustomed to see. 

We now travelled through a very moun- 
tainous country ; li^e stream running rather 
in a ravine than a valley, and the read is de- 
cidedly bad and dangerous for single wa- 
gons, frequently crossing the stream where 
the water is sometimes deep ; and all the 
day the animals were fatigued in climbing 
up and descending a succession of steep as- 
cents, to avoid the precipitous hill sides ; 
and the common trail, which leads along the 
mountain side at places where the river 
strikes the base, is sometimes bad even for 
a horseman. The mountains along this 
day's journey were composed, near tlie river, 
of a slaty calcareous rock in a metamorphic 
condition. It appears originally to have 
been a slaty sedimentary limestone, but it; 
present condition indicates that it has been 
altered, and has become partially crystalline 
— probably from the proximity of volcanic 
rocks. But though travelling was slow and 
fatiguing to the animals, we were delighted 
with the appearance of the country, which 
was green and refreshing after our tedious 
journey down the parched valley of Snake 
river. The mountains were covered with 
good bunch grass (festuca) ; the water of 
the streams was cold and pure ; their bot- 
toms were handsomely wooded with various 
kinds of trees ; and huge and lofty and pic- 
turesque precipices were displayed where 
the river cut through the mountains. 

We found in the evening some good grass 
and rushes ; and encamped among large 
timber, principally birch, which had been re- 
cently burnt and blackened, and almost de- 
stroyed by fire. The night was calm and 
tolerably clear, with the thermometer at sun- 
set at .59°. Our journey to-day was about 
20 miles. 

Cctuhtr 11. — The day was clear a.nd calm, 
with a temperature at sunrise of 'iG''. After 
travelling about three mUes up the valley, 
wp found tb" nver shut up b)' precipices in 
a kind of caiion, and the road makes a cir- 
cuit over the mountains. In the afternoon 
we reached the river again, by another little 
ravine ; and, after travelling along it for a 
few miles, left it enclosed among rude moun- 
tains ; and, ascending a smaller branch, en- 
camped on it about 5 o'clock, very much 
elevated above tiie valley. The view was 
everywhere limited by mountains, on which 
were no longer seen the black and barren 
rocks, but a fertile soil, with excellent grass, 
and partly well covered with pine. I have 
never seen a wagon road equally bad in the 



T04 



GAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



■ame space, as this of yesterday and to-day. 
I noticed where one wagon had been over- 
turned twice, in a very short distance ; and 
it was surprising to me that those wagons 
which were in the rear, and could not have 
had much assistance, got through at all. 
Slill, there is no mud ; and the road has one 
advantage, in being perfectly firm. The 
day had been warm and very pleasant, and 
the night was pcrrcctly clear. 

October 15. — The thermometer at daylight 
was 42°, and at sunrise -10°; clouds, which 
were scattered over all the sky, disappeared 
v/ith the rising sun. The trail did not much 
improve until we had crossed the dividing 
ground between the BrvU (Burnt) and Pow- 
der rivers. The rock displayed on the moun- 
tains, as we approached tlie summit, was a 
compact trap, decomposing on the exposed 
surfaces, and apparently an altered argillace- 
oufl sandstone, containing small crystalline 
nodules of anolcime, apparently filling cavi- 
ties originally existing. From the summit 
here, the whole horizon shows high moun- 
tains ; no high plain or level is to be seen ; 
and on the left, from south around by the 
west to north, the mountains are black with 
pines; while, through the remaining space 
to the eastward, they are bald with the ex- 
ception of some scattered pines. Yon will 
remark that we ai-e now entering a region 
where all the clevj;ted parts are covered with 
dense and heavy forests. From the dividing 
grounds we descended by a mountain road 
to Powder river, on an old bed of which wo 
encamped. Descending from the summit, 
we enjoyed a picturesque view of high rocky 
n\,onntains on the right, illuminated by the 
Betting sun 

From tha heights wc had looked in vain 
for a well-known landmark on Powder river, 
which had been described to me by Mr. 
Payette as farbre scul (the lone tree) ; and, 
on arriving at the river, we found a fine tall 
pine stretched on the ground, which had 
been felled by some inconsiderate emigrant- 
axe. It had been a beacon on the road for 
many years past. Our Cayuses had become 
impatient to reach their homes, and travelled 
on ahead to-day ; and this afternoon we were 
yisited by several Indian.'*, who belonged to 
tbe tribes on the C(,iumbia. They were on 
horseback, and were out on a hunting ex- 
cursion, but had obtained no better game 
than a large grey hare, of which each had 
some six or seven hanging to his saddle. 
We were also visited by an Indian who had 
his lodge and family in the mountain to the 
left. He was in want of ammunition, and 
brought with him a beaver skin to exchange, 
and which he valued at six charges of pow- 
der and ball. I learned from him that there 
are very few of these animals remaining in 
this part of the country. 



The temperature at sunset was 61°, and 
the evening clear. I obtained, with other 
observations, an immersion and emersion of 
the third satellite. Elevation 3,100 feet. 

October 16. — For several weeks the 
weather in the daytime has been very beau- 
tiful, clear, and warm : but the nights, in 
comparison, are very cold. During the night 
there was ice a quarter of an inch thick ia 
the lodge ; and at daylight the thermometer 
was at 16", and the same at sunrise; tha 
weather being calm and clear. The annual 
vegetation now i^ nearly gone, almost all 
the plants being out of bloom. 

I^ast night two of our horses had run off 
again, which delayed us until noon ; and we 
made to-day but a short journey of 13 miles, 
the road being very good, and encamped in 
a fins bottom of I'owder river. 

The thermometer at sunset was at 61**, 
witli an easterly wind, and partially clear 
sky ; and the day has been quite pleasant 
and warm, though more cloudy than yester- 
day ; and the .sun was frequently faint, but 
it grew finer and clearer towards evening. 

October 17. — Thermometer at sunrise 25". 
The weather at daylight was fine, and the 
sky without a cloud ; but these came up, or 
were formed with the sun, and at 7 were 
thick over all the sky. Just now, tliis ap- 
pears to be the regular course — clear and 
brilliant dwing the night, and cloudy during 
the day. There is snow yet visible in the 
neighboring mountains, which yesterday ex- 
tended along our route to the left, in a lofty 
and dark-blue ranee, having mucli tlie ap- 
pearance of the Wind river mountains. It 
is probable that they have received their 
name of the Blue mourUains from the dark- 
blue appearance given to them by the pines. 
We travelled this morning across the afflu- 
ents to Powder river, the road being good, 
firm, and level; and the country became 
constantly more pleasant and i!ilcri\<liiig. 
The soil appeared to be very deep, and is 
black and extremely good, as well among' 
the hollovv'S of the hills on the elevated bials, 
as on the river bottoms ; the vegetation being 
such as is usually found in good ground. 
The following analytical result shows the 
precise qualities of this soil, and will jut;tify 
to science the character of fertility which the 
eye attributes to it : 

Analysis of Powder river soil. 

Silica 72.30 

Alumina 6.25 

Carbonate of lime 6 8S 

Carbonate of magnesia .... 4 62 

Oxide of iron 120 

Organic matter 4*50 

Water and loss 4.27 



100.00 



- K 



1843.] 

" Prom the waters of this stream, the road 
ascended by a good and moderate ascent to 
a dividing ridge, but immediately entered 
upon ground covered with fragments cf an 
altered siliceous slate, which are in many 
places large, and render the road racking to 
a carriage. In this rock the planes of depo- 
sition are distinctly preserved, and the msta- 
morphism is evidently due to the proximity 
of volcanic rocks. On either side, the moun- 
tains here are densely covered with tall and 
handsome trees ; and, mingled with the 

green of a variety of pines, is the yellow of 
le European larch (pinus larix), which 
loses its leaves in the fall. From its present 
color, we were enabled to see that it forms a 
lai^e proportion of the forests on the moun- 
tains, and is here a magnificent tree, attain- 
ing sometimes the height of 200 feet, which 
I believe is elsewhere unknown. About two 
in the afternoon we reached a high point of 
the dividing ridge, from which we obtained 
a good view of the Grand Roiid — a beauti- 
ful level basin, or mountain valley, covered 
■with good grass, on a rich soil, abundantly 
watered, and surrounded by high and well- 
timbered mountains ; and it3 name descrip- 
tive of its form — the great circle. It is a 
place — one of the few we have seen in our 
journey so far — where a farmer would de- 
light to establish himself, if he were content 
to live in the seclusion which it imposes. It 
is about 20 miles in diameter ; and may, in 
time; form a superb county. Probably with 
the view of avoiding a circuit, the wagons 
had directly descended into the Roncl by the 
face of a hill so very rocky and continuously 
Eteep as to be apparently impracticable ; 
and, following down on their trail, we en- 
camped on one of the branches of the Grand 
Rond river, immediately at the foot of the 
hill. I had remarked, in descending, some 
■very white spots glistening on the plain, and, 
going out in that direction after we had en- 
camped, I found them to be the bed of a dry 
salt lake, or marsh, very firm and bare, 
which was covered thickly with a fine white 
powder, containing a large quantity of car- 
bonate of soda (tliirty-three in one hundred 
parts). 

The o'd grass had been lately burnt off 
from the surrounding hills, and, wherever the 
fire had passed, there was a recent growth 
of strong, green, and vigorous grass ; and 
the soil of the level prairie, which sweeps 
directly up to the foot of the surrounding 
mountains, appears to be very rich, produc- 
ing flax spontaneously and luxuriantly in 
various places. 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



Analysis of the Grand Rond soil. 



Silica 
Alumina 



70.81 
10.97 



Lime and magnesia 
Oxide of iron .... 
Vegetable matter, partly decomposed 
Water and loss .... 
Phosphate of lime 



lOS 

1 33 
2.21 

8.1(5 
6.46 
1.01 



100.00 



The elevation of this encampment is 
2,940 feet above the sea. 

October 18. — It began to rain an hour be- 
fore sunrise, and continued until 10 o'clock; 
tiie sky entirely overcast, and the tempera- 
ture at sunrise 48°. 

V/e resumed cur journey somewhat later 
than usual, travelling in a nearly north di- 
rection across this beautiful valley; and 
about noon reached a place en one of the 
principal streams, where I h;'.d determined to 
leave the emigrant trail, in the expectation 
of finding a more direct and better road 
across the Blue mountains. At tliis place 
the emigrants^ appeared to have held some 
consultation as to their further route, and 
finally turned directly oiT to the left; reach- 
ing the foot of the mountain in nbout three 
miles, which they ascended by a hill as steep 
and diCicult as that by which we had yester- 
day descended to the Rond. Quitting, there- 
fore, this road, which, after a very rough 
cn^.ssing, i.=;sues from the mountains by the 
heads of the Umciilah river, we continued 
our northern course across the valley, fol- 
lowing an Indian trail which had been indi- 
cated to me by Mr. Payette, and encamped 
at the nortliern e.xtremity of the Grand Rond, 
on a slough-like stream of very deep water, 
without any apparent current. There are 
some pines here on the low hills at the creek ; 
and in the northwest corner of the Rond is a 
very heavy body of timber, which descends 
into the plain. The clouds, which had rested 
very ]o\v along the mountain sides during 
the day, rose gradually up in the afternoon; 
and in the evening the sky was almost en- 
tirely clear, with a temperature at sunset of 
4'7°. Some indifferent observations placed 
the camp in longitude 117'' 28' 26", latitude 
45^ 26' 47" ; and the elevation was 2,600 
feet above the sea. 

October 19. — This morning the mountains 
were hidden by fog ; there was a heavy dew 
during the night, in whicli the exposed ther- 
mometer at daylight stood at 32"', and at sun- 
rise the temperature was 35". 

We passed out of the Grand Rond by a 
fine road along the cre^k, which, for a short 
distance, runs in a kind of rocky chasm. 
Crossing a low point, which was a little 
rocky, the trail conducted into the open val- 
ley of the stream — a handsome place for 
farms ; the soil, even of the hills, being rich 
and black. Passing through a point of 



106 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



pines, which bore evidences of being much 
frequented by the Indians, and in wiiich the 
trees were sometimes apparently 200 feet 
liigh and 3 to 7 feet in diameter, we halted 
for a few mimites in the afternoon at the foot 
of the Blue mountains, on a branch of the 
Grand Rond river, at an elevation of 2,700 
feet. Resuming our journey, we commenced 
the ascent of the mountain through an open 
pine forest of large and stately trees, among 
which tlie balsam pine made its appearance ; 
the road being good, with the exception of 
one steep ascent, with a corresponding de- 
scent, which might both have been easily 
avoided by opening a way for a short dis- 
tance through tiie timber. It would have 
been well had we encamped on the stream 
where we had halted below, as tlie night 
overtook us on the mountain, and we were 
obliged to encamp without water, and tie up 
the animals to the trees for the night. We 
had halted on a smooth open place of a nar- 
row ridge, which descended very rapidly to' 
a ravine or piney hollow, at a considerable 
distance l>elow ; and it was quite a pretty 
spot, had there been water near. But the 
fires at niglit look very cheerless after a day's 
march, when there is no preparation for sup- 
per going on; and, after sitting some time 
around the blazing logs, Mr. Preuss and 
Carson, with several others, volunteered to 
take the India rubber buckets and go down 
into the ravine in search of water. It was 
a very difficult way in the darkness down the 
slippery side of the steep mountain, and 
harder still to climb about half a mile up 
again ; but they found the water, and the cup 
of coffee (which it enabled us to make) and 
bread were only enjoyed with greater pleas- 
ure. 

At sunset the temperature was 46° ; the 
evening remarkably clear ; and I obtained an 
emersion of the first satellite, which doe^ not 
give a good result, although the observation 
was a very good one. The chronometric 
longitude was 117° 28' 34'', latitude 45° 38' 
07", and we had ascended to an elevation of 
3,830 feet. It appeared to have snowed yes- 
terday on the mountains, their summits 
showing very white to-day. 

October 20. — There was a heavy white 
frost during the night, and at sunrise the 
temperature was 37°. 

The animals had eaten nothing during the 
night; and we made an early start, continu- 
ing our route among the pines, which were 
more dense than yesterday, and still retained 
their magnificent size. The larches cluster 
together in masses on the sides of tiie moun- 
tains, and their yellow foliage contrasts hand- 
somely with the green of the balsam and 
other pines. After a few miles we ceased 
to see any pines, and the limber consisted of 
several varieties of spruce, larch, aud brUsam 



pine, which have a regularly conical figure. 
These trees appeared from 60 to nearly 200 
feet in height ; the usual circumference be- 
ing 10 to 12 feet, and in the pines sometimes 
21 feet. In open places near the summit, 
these trees became leas high and more 
branching, the conical form having a greater 
base. The instrument carriage occasioned 
much delay, it being frequently necessary to 
fell trees and remove the fallen timber. The 
trail we were following led up a long spur, 
with a very gradual and gentle rise. 

At the end of three miles, we halted at an 
open place near the summit, from which we 
enjoyed a fine view over the mountainous 
country where we had lately travelled, to 
take a barometrical observation at the height 
of 4,460 feet. 

After travelling occasionally through open 
places in the forest, we were obliged to cut 
a way through a dense body of timber, from 
which we emerged on an open mountain 
side, where we found a number of small 
springs, and encamped after a day's journey 
of 10 miles. Our elevation here was 6,000 
feet. 

October 21. — There was a very heavy 
white frost during the night, and the ther- 
mometer at sunrise was 30°. 

We continued to travel through the forest, 
in which the road was rendered difficult by 
fallen trunks, and obstructed by many small 
trees, which it was necessary to cut down. 
But these are only accidental difficulties, 
which could easily be removed, and a very 
excellent road may be had through this pass, 
with no other than very moderate ascents or 
declivities. A laborious day, which had ad- 
vanced us only six miles on our road, brought 
us in the afternoon to an opening in the 
forest, in which there was a fine mountain 
meadow, with good grass, and a large clear- 
water stream — one of the head branches of 
the Umaiilah river. During this day's jour- 
ney, the barometer was broken ; and the ele- 
vations above the sea, hereafter given, depend 
upon the temperature of boiling water. Some 
of the white spruces which I measured to- 
day were twelve feet in circumference, and 
one of the larches ten ; but eight feet was the 
average circumference of those measured 
along the road. I held in my hand a tape 
line as I walked along, in order to form some 
correct idea of the size of the timber. Their 
height appeared to be from 100 to 180, and 
perhaps 200 feet, and the trunks of tlie 
larches were sometimes 100 feet without a 
limb; but the white spruces were generally 
covered with branches nearly to the root. 
All these trees have their branches, particu- 
larly the lower ones, declining. 

October 22. — The white frost this morning 
was like snow on the ground ; the ice was a 
quarter of an inch thick on the creek, and the 



1843.1 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



107 



thermometer at sunrise was at 20°. But, in 
a few hours, the day became warm and plea- 
sant, and our road over the mountains was 
delightful and full of enjoyment. 

The trail passed sometimes through very 
thick young timber in which ther^was much 
cutting to be done ; but, after travelling a 
few miles, the mountains became more bald, 
and we reached a point from which there was 
a very extensive view in the northwest. We 
were here on the western verge of the Blue 
mountains, long spurs of which, very pre- 
cipitous on either side, extended down into 
the valley, the waters of the mountain roar- 
ing between them. On our right was a 
mountain plateau, covered with a dense for- 
est; and to the westward, immediately below 
us, was the great Nez Perce (pierced nose) 
prairie, in which dark lines of timber indi- 
cated the course of many affluents to a con- 
siderable stream that v/as seen pursuing its 
way across the plain towards what appeared 
to be the Columbia river. This I knew to be 
the Walahwalah river, and occasional spots 
along its banks, u'hich resembled clearings, 
were supposed to be the mission or Indian 
settlements ; but the weather was smoky and 
unfavorable to far views with the glass. The 
rock displayed here in the escarpments is a 
compact amorphous trap, which appears to 
constitute the mass of the Blue mountains in 
this latitude ; and all the region of country 
through which v.'e have travelled since leav- 
ing the Snake river has been the seat of 
violent and extensive igneous action. Along 
the Burnt river valle}', the strata are evident- 
ly sedimentary jpocks, altered by the intrusion 
of volcanic products, which in some instances 
have penetrated and essentially changed their 
original condition. Along our line of route 
from this point to the California mountains, 
there seems but little essential change. All 
our specimens of sedimentary rocks show 
them to be much altered, and volcanic pro- 
ductions appear to prevail throughout the 
whole intervening distance. 

The road now led along the mountain side, 
around heads of the precipitous ravines ; and, 
keeping men ahead to clear a road, we passed 
alternately through bodies of timber and small 
open prairies, and encamped in a large 
meadow, in view of the great prairie below. 

At sunset the thermometer was at 40", and 
the night was very clear and bright. Water 
was only to be had here by descending a bad 
ravine, into which we drove our animals, and 
had much trouble vvitii them, in a very clo.se 
growth of small pines. Mr. Preuss had walk- 
ed ahead, and did not get into the camp this 
evening. The trees here maintained their 
size, and one of the black spruces measured 
15 feet in circumference. In the neighbor- 
hood of tlie camp, pines have reappeared here 
among the timber. 



October 23.— The morning was very clear ; 
there had been a heavy white frost' during 
the night, and at sunrise the thermometer 
was at 31°. 

After cutting through two thick bodies of 
timber, in which I noticed eom.e small trees 
of liemlock spruce (pejicsxe), the forest be- 
came more open, and Vv'e had no longer any 
trouble to clear a way. The pines here were 
11 or 12 feet in circumference, and about 110 
feet high, and appeared to love the open 
grounds. The trail now led along one of the 
long spurs of the mountain, descending grad- 
ually towards tlic plain; and after a few miles 
travelling, Vve emerged finally from the for- 
est, in full view of the plain belov/, and saw 
the snov/y mass of Mount Hood, standing 
high out above the surrounding country, at 
the distance of 180 miles. Tiic road along 
the ridge was excellent, and the grass very 
green and good ; the old grass having been 
burnt off early in the autumn. About 4 o'- 
clock in the afternoon wo reached a little 
bottom, on the Walahwalah river, where we 
found Mr. Preuss, who yesterday had reach- 
ed this place, and found himself too far in 
advance of the camp to return. The stream 
here has just issued from the narrow ravines, 
which are walled with precipices, in which 
the rock has a brown and more burnt ap- 
pearance than above. 

x\t sunset the thermometer was at 48° ; 
ardour position was in longitude 118° 00' 
39", and in latitude 45° 63' 35". 

The morning was clear, with a tempera- 
ture at sunrise of 24°. Crossing the river, 
we travelled over a hilly country with good 
bunch grass ; the river bottom, which gen- 
erally contains the best soil in other coun- 
tries, being here a sterile level of rocks and 
pebbles. We had found the soil in the Blue 
mountains to be of excellent quality, and it 
appeared also to be good here among the 
lower hills. Reaching a little eminence, 
over which the trail pa^ised, we had an ex- 
tensive view along the course of the river, 
which was divided and spread over its bot- 
tom in a net-work of water, receiving several 
other tributaries from the mountains. There 
was a band of several hundred horses grazing 
on the hills about two miles ahead ; and as 
we advanced on the road we met other bands, 
which Indians were driving out to pasture 
also on the hills. True to its general cha- 
racter, the reverse of other countries, the 
hills and mountains here were rich in grass, 
the bottoms barren and sterile. 

In six miles we crossed a principal fork, 
below which the scattered water of the river 
v/as gathered into one channel ; and, passing 
on the way several unlirushed houses, and 
same cleaved patches, v/here corn and pota- 
I toes were cultivated, we reached, in about 
' eieht miles farther, the missioaar/ esta'ollBh- 



108 



CAPT. FRELIONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



ment of Dr. Whitman, which consisted, at I 
this time, of one adobe house — i.e., built of | 
unburnt bricks, aa in Mexico. 
. I found Dr. VViiitman absent on a visit to 
the Dalles of the Cohimbia ; but had the 
pleasure to see a line-looking large family of 
emigrants, men, women and children, in ro- 
bust liealtii, all indemnifying themselves for 
previous scanty fare, in a hearty consump- 
tion of potatoes, wliich are produced here of 
a remarkably good quality. We were dis- 
appointed in our expectation of obtaining 
corn meal or flour at tliis station, the mill 
belonging to the mission having been lately 
burnt down ; but an abundant supply of ex- 
cellent potatoes banished regrets, and fur- 
nished a grateful substitute for bread. A small 
town of Nez Perce Indians gave an inhabited 
and even a populous appearance to the station ; 
and, after remaining about an hour, we con- 
tinued our route, and encamped on the river 
about four miles below, passing on the way 
an emigrant encampment. 

Temperature at sunset, 49°. 

October 25. — The weather was pleasant, 
with a sunrise temperature of 36°. Our 
road to-day had in it nothing of interest; 
and the country offered to the eye only a 
sandy, undulating plain, through which a 
scantily timbered river takes its course. 
We halted about three miles above the 
mouth, on account of grass ; and the next 
morning arrived at the Nez Perce fort, one 
of the trading establishments of the Hudson 
Bay Company, a few hundred yards above 
the junction of the Walahwalah with the 
Columbia river. Here we had the first 
view of this river, and found it about 1,200 
yards wide, and presenting the appearance 
of a fine navigable stream. We made our 
camp in a little grove of willows on the 
Walahwalah, wiiich are the only trees to be 
seen in the neighborhood ; but were obliged 
to send the animals back to the encampment 
we had left, as there was scarcely a blade 
of grass to be found. The post is on the 
bank of the Columbia, on a plain of bare 
sands, from which the air was literally filled 
with clouds of dust and sand, during one of 
the few days we remained here ; this place 
being one of the several points on the river 
which are distinguished for prevailing high 
winds, which come from the sea. The ap- 
pearance of the post and country was with- 
out interest, except that we here saw, for 
the first time, the great river on which the 
course of events for the last half century 
has been directing attention and conferring 
historical fame. The river is, indeed, a 
noble object, and has here attained its full 
magnitude. About nine miles above, and in 
sight from the heights about the post, is the 
junction of the two great forks which con- 
stitute the main stream — that on whicli we 



hud been travelling from Fort Hall, and 
known by the names of Lewis's fork, Sho- 
shonce, and Snake river ; and the North fork, 
which has retained the name of Columbia, 
as being tlie main stream. 

We (li'^not go up to the junction, being 
pressed for time ; but the union of two large 
streams, coming one from the southeast, and 
the other from the northeast, and meeting in 
what may be treated as the geographical 
centre of the Oregon valley, thence doubling 
the volume of water to the ocean, while 
opening two great lines of communication 
with tiie interior continent, constitutes a 
feature in the map of the country which 
cannot be overlooked ; and it was probably 
in reference to this junction of waters, and 
these lines of communication, that this post 
was established. They are important lines, 
and, from the structure of the country, must 
for ever remain so — one of them leading to 
the South Pass, and to the valley of the 
Mississipi ; the other to the pass at the liead 
of the Athabasca river, and to the countriee 
drained by the waters of the Hudson Cay. 
The British fur companies now use both 
lines -, the Americans, in their emigration to 
Oregon, have begun to follow the one which 
leads towards the United States. Bateaus 
from tide water ascend to the junction, and 
thence high up the North fork, or Columbia. 
Land conveyance only is used upon the line 
of Lewis's fork. To the emigrants to Ore- 
gon, the Nez Perce is a point of interest, aa 
being,.to those who choose it, the termination 
of their overland journey,^^ The broad ex- 
panse of the river here iil.rtes them to em- 
bark on its bosom ; and the lofty trees of the 
forest furnish the means of doing so. 

From the South Pass to this place is about 
1,000 miles; and as it is about the same 
distance from that pass to the Missouri river 
at the mouth of the Kansas, it may be as- 
sumed that 2,000 miles is the iiecsssary land 
travel in crossing from the United States to 
the Pacific ocean on this line. From the 
mouth of the Great Platte it would be about 
100 miles less. 

Mr. McKinley, the commander of the post, 
received us with great civility ; and both to 
myself, and the heads of the emigrants who 
were tliere at the time, extended the rights 
of hospitality in a comfortable dinner to 
which he invited us. 

By a meridional altitude of the sun, the 
only observation that the weatlier permitted 
us to obtain, the mouth of the Walahwalah 
river is in latitude 46° 03' 46''; and, by the 
road we had travelled, 612 miles from Fort 
Hall. At the time of our arrival, a con- 
siderable body of the emigrants under the 
direction of Mr. Applegate, a man of con- 
siderable resolution and energy, had nearly 
completed the building of a number of 



1843.1 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



109 



Mackinaw boats, in whicli they proposed to 
continue their further voyage down the 
Columbia. I had seen, in descending the 
Waiahwa'.ah river, a fine drove of «everal 
hundred cattle, wliich they had exchanged 
for" Californian cattle, to be received at Van- 
couver, and which are considered a very 
inferior breed. The other portion of the 
emigration had preferred to com|)lete their 
journey by land along the banks of the 
Columbia, taking their stock and wagons 
with them. 

Having reinforced our animals with eight 
fre«h horses, hired from the post, and in- 
creased our stock of provisions with dried 
salmon, potatoes, and a little beef, we re- 
sumed our journey down the left bank of the 
Columbia, being guided on our road by an 
intelligent Indian boy, whom I had engaged 
to accompany us as far as the Dalles. 

From an elevated point over which the 
road led, we obtained another far view of 
Mount Hood, 160 miles distant. We ob- 
tained on the river bank an observation of 
tbe sun at noon, which gave for the latitude 
4^" 58' 08". The country to-day was very 
uaprepossessing, and our road bad ; and as 
v«j toiled slowly along through deep loose 
sands, and over fragments of black volcanic 
rock, our laborious travelling was strongly 
contrasted with the rapid progress of Mr. 
Applegate's fleet of boats, which suddenly 
cnme gliding swiftly down the broad river, 
which here chanced to be tranquil and 
enuooth. At evening we encamped on the 
river bank, where there was very little grass, 
and lesa timber. We frequently met Indians 
on the road, and they were collected at every 
iavorable spot along the river. 

October 29. — The road continued along 
the river, and in the course of the day Mount 
tSt. Helens, another snowy peak of the Cas- 
cade range, was visible. We crossed the 
Umutilah river at a fall near its mouth. 
This stream is of the same class as the 
Walaliwalah river, with a bed of volcanic 
rock, in places split into fissures. Our en- 
campment was similar to that of yesterday ; 
there was very little grass, and no wood. 
The Indians brought us some pieces for sale, 
which were purchased to make our fires. 

October 'dl. — By observation, our camp is 
ia latitude 45° 50' 05", and longitude 119" 
;i2' 18". The night has been cold, and we 
iiave white frost this morning, with a tem- 
]>craturo at daylight of 25", and at sunrise 
of 24*. The early morning was very clear, 
and the stars bright ; but, as usual since we 
are on the Columbia, clouds formed imme- 
diately with the rising sun. The day con- 
tinned fine?, the east being covered witli 
scattered clouds, but the west remaining 
clear ; showing the remarkable cone-like 
,p&&k of Mount Hood brightly drawn against 



the sky. This was in view all day in the 
southwest, bxit no other peaks of the range 
were visible. Our road was a bad one, of 
very loose deep sand. We met on the w^ay 
a party of Indians unusually well dressed, 
wearing clothes of civilized texture and 
form. They appeared intelligent, and, in 
our slight intercourse, impressed me with 
the belief that they possessed some aptitude 
for acquiring languages. 

We continued to travel along the river, 
the stream being interspersed with many 
sand bars (it being the season of low water) 
and with many isUuids, and an apparently 
good navigation. Small willows were the 
only wood ; rock and sand the prominent 
geological feature. The rock of this sectioa 
is a very compact and tough basalt, occurring 
in strata which have the appearance of being 
broken into fragments, assuming the form of 
columnar hills, and appearing always in es- 
carpments, with the broken fragments strew- 
ed at tlie base and over the adjoining coun- 
try. ^ 

We made a late encampment on the river, 
and used to-night pnrshia triJerUata for fire 
wood. Among the rocks which formed the 
hank, was very good green grass. Latitude 
45° 44' 23", longitude 119° 45' 09". 

November 1. — Mount Hood is glowing in 
the sunlight this morning, and the air is 
pleasant, with a temperature of 38°. We 
continued down the river, and, passing 
tlirough a pretty green valley, bounded by 
high precipitous rocks, encamped at tbe lower 
end. I 

On the right shore, the banks of the Co- 
lumbia are very high and st^ep ; the river is 
1,690 feet broad, and dark blulS of rock give 
it a picturesque appearance. 

November 2. — The river here entered 
among blufls, leaving no longer room for a 
road ; and we accordingly left it, and took a 
more inland way among the river hills ; on 
which we had no sooner entered, than we 
found a great improvement in tlie country. 
The sand had disappeared, and the soil was 
good, and covered with e.xcellent grass, al- 
though the surface was broken into high 
hills, with uncommonly deep valleys. At 
noon we crossed John Day's river, a clear 
and beautiful stream, with a swift current 
and a bed of rolled stones. It is sunk in a 
deep valley, which is characteristic of all the 
streams in this region ; and tlie hill we de- 
scended to reach it well deserves the name 
of mountain. Some of the emigrants had 
encamped on the river, and others at the 
summit of the farther hill, the ascent of 
which had probably cost their wagons a day's 
labor ; and others again had halted for tlie 
night a few miles beyond, where they had 
slept without water. We also encamped in 
a grassy hollow without water ; but aa we 



110 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



had been forewarned of this privation by the 
guide, the animals had ail been watered at 
Sie river, and we had brought with us a suf- 
ficient quantity for the night. 

November 3. — After two hours' ride through 
a fertile, hilly country, covered as all the up- 
land here appears to be with good green 
grass, we descended again into the river bot- 
tom, along which we resumed our sterile 
road, and in about four miles reached the 
ford of the Fall river (Riviere aux Chutes), 
a considerable tributary to the Columbia. 
We had heard on reaching the Nez i'erce fort, 
a repetition of the account in regard to the un- 
eetlled character of the Columbia Indians at 
the present time •, and to our little party they 
had at various points manifested a not very 
friendly disposition, in several attempts to 
steal our horses. At this place I expected 
to find a badjy disposed band, who had plun- 
dered a party of 14 emigrant men a few days 
before, and taken away their horses ; and 
accordingly we made the necessary prepara- 
tions for our security, but happily met with 
no dilTiculty. 

The river was high, divided into several 
arms, with a rocky island at its outlet into 
the Columbia, which at this place it rivalled 
in size, and apparently deserved its highly 
characteristic name, which is received from 
one of its many falls some forty miles up the 
river. It entered the Columbia with a roar 
of falls and rapids, and is probably a favorite 
fishing station among the Indians, with 
whom both banks of the river were populous ; 
but they scarcely paid any attention to us. 
The ford was very difficult at this time, and, 
had they entertained any bad intentions, they 
were olTered a good opportunity to carry 
them out as I drove directly into the' river, 
and during the crossing the howitzer was 
occasionally several i'eet under water, and a 
number of the men appeared to be more often 
below than above. Our guide was well ac- 
quainted with the ford, and we succeeded in 
getting everything safe over to the left bank. 
We delayed here only a short time to put 
the gun in order, and, ascending a long 
mountain hill, left both rivers, and resumed 
our route again among the interior hills. 

The roar of the Falls of the Cohimhia is 
heard from the heights, where we halted a 
few moments to enjoy a line view of the 
river below. In the season of high water it 
would be a very interesting object to visit, in 
order to witness what is related bf the annual 
submerging of the fall under the waters 
which back up from the basin below, consti- 
tuting a great natural lock at this place. 
But time had become an object of serions 
consideration ; and the Falls, in their present 
state, had been seen and described by many?" 

After a day's journey of 17 miles, we en- 
camped among the hilU on a little clear 



stream, where, as usual, the Indians imme- 
diately gathered round us. Among them 
was a very old man, almost blind from age, 
with long and very white hair. I happened 
of my own accord to give this old man a pre- 
sent of tobacco, and was struck with the im- 
pression which my unpropitiated notice made 
on the Indians, who appeared in a remarka^ 
ble manner acquainted with the real value of 
goods, and to understand the equivalents of 
trade. At evening, one of them spoke a few 
words to his people, and, telling me that we 
need entertain no uneasiness in regard to our 
animals, as none of them would be disturbed, 
they went all quietly away. In the morning, 
when they again came to the camp, I ex- 
pressed to them the gratification we felt at 
their reasonable conduct, making them a pre- 
sent of some large knives and a few smaller 
articles. 

November 4. — The road continued among ^ 
the hills, and, reaching an eminence, we saw 
before us, watered by a clear stream, a 
tolerably large valley, through which the 
trail passed. 

In comparison with the Indians of the 
Rocky mountains and the great eastern 
plain, these are disagreeably dirty in their 
habits. Their huts were crowded with half- 
naked women and children, and the atmo- 
sphere within anything but pleasant to per- 
sons who had just been riding in the fresh 
morning air. We were somewhat amused 
with the scanty dress of one woman, who, in 
common with the others, rushed out of the 
huts on our arrival, and who, in default of 
other covering, used a child for a fig leaf. 

The road in about half an hour passed near 
an elevated point, from which we overlooked 
the valley of the Columbia for many miles, 
and saw in the distance several houses sur- 
rounded by fields, which a chief, who had 
accompanied us from the village, pointed out 
to us as the Methodist missionary station. 

In a few miles we descended to the river, 
which we reached at one of its remarkably in- 
teresting features, known as the Dalles of the 
Columbia. The whole volume of the river at 
this place passed between the walls of a 
chasm, which has the appearance of having 
been rent through the basaltic strata which 
form the valley rock of the region. At the 
narrowest place we found the breadth, by mea- 
surement, 58 yards, and the average height 
of the walls above the water 'JS feet ; form- 
ing a trough between the rocks — whence the 
name, probably applied by a Canadian voya- 
geur. • The mass of water, in the present 
low state of the river, passed swiltly be- 
tween, deep and black, and curled into many 
.«mall whirlpools and counter currents, but 
unbroken by foam, and so still that scarcely 
tUe sound ©f a rippie was neara. The rock, 
foHkxjoneiderable distance from tlie river, 



1-843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



Ill 



was worn over a large portion of its surface 
into circular holes and well-like cavities, by 
the abrasion of the river, wliich, at the sea- 
son of high waters, is spread out over the 
adjoining bottom.s. 

In the recent passage through this cha«m, 
an unfortunate event had occurred to Mr. Ap- 
plegate's p^irty, in the loss of one of their 
ix>ats, which had been carried under water in 
the midst of the Dalles, and two of Mr. Apple- 
gute's children and one man drowned. This 
misfortune was attributed only to want of 
Hkill in the steersman, as at this season there 
is no impediment to navigation ; although 
the place is entirely impassable at high wa- 
ter, when boats pass safely over the great 
falls above, in the submerged state in which 
they then find themselves. 

The basalt here is precisely the same as 
that which constitutes the rock of the valley 
higher up the Columbia, being very compact, 
with a few round cavities. 

We passed rapidly three or four miles 
down the level valley, and encamped near 
the mission. The character of the forest 
growth here changed, and we found our- 
selves, with pleasure, again among oaks and 
other forest trees of the east, to which we 
had long bean strangers ; and the hospitable 
and kind reception with which we were wel- 
comed among our country people at the mis- 
sion aided the momentary illusion of home. 

Two good-looking wooden dwelling houses, 
and a large school house, with stables, barn, 
and garden, and large cleared fields between 
the houses and the river bank, on which 
were scattered the wooden huts of an Indian 
village, gave to. the valley the cheerful and 
busy air of civilisation, and had in our eyes 
an appearance of abundant and enviable com- 
fort. 

Our land journey found here its western 
termination. The delay involved in getting 
our camp to the right bank of the Columbia, 
and ill opening a road through the continu- 
ous forest to Vancouver, rendered a journey 
along the river impracticable; and on this 
eide the usual road across the mountain re- 
quired strong and fresh animals, there being 
an interval of three days in which they could 
obtain no food. I therefore wrote immedi- 
ately to Mr. Fitzpatrick, directing him to 
abandon the carts at the Walahwalah mis- 
sionary station, and, as soon as the necessary 
pack saddles could be made, which his party 
required, meet me at the Dalles, from which 
point I proposed to commence our homeward 
journey. The day after our arrival being 
Sunday, no business could be done at the 
mission ; but on Monday Mr. Perkins assist- 
ed me in procuring from the Indians a large 
canoe, in which I designed to complete our 
joarney to Vancouver, where I expected to 
obtain the necessary supply of provisions 



and stores for our w'inter journey. Three 
Indians, from the family to whom the canoe 
belonged, were engaged to assist in working 
her during the voyage, and, with them, our 
water party consisted of Mr. Preuss and my- 
self, with Bernier and Jacob Dodson. In 
charge of the party which was to remain at 
the Dalles I left Carson, with instructions to 
occupy the people in making pack saddles 
and refitting their equipage. The village 
from which we were to take the canoe was 
on the right bank of the river, about ten 
miles below, at the mouth of the Tinanens 
creek ; and while Mr. Preuss proceeded 
down the river with the instruments, in a 
little canoe paddled by two Indians, Mr. Per- 
kins accompanied me with the remainder of 
the party by land. The last of the emigrants 
had just left the Dalles at the time of our ar- 
rival, travelling some by water and others by 
land, making ark-like rafts, on which they 
had embarked their families and household, 
with their large wagons and other furniture, 
while their stock were driven along the 
shore. 

For about five miles below the Dalles, the 
river is narrow, and probably very deep ; but 
during this distance it is somewhat open, 
with grassy bottoms on the- left. Entering, 
then, among the lower mountains of the 
Cascade range, it -assumes a general charrac- 
ter, and high and steep rocky hills shut it in 
on either side, rising abruptly in places to 
the height of 1,500 feet above the water, and 
gradually acquiring a more mountainous 
character as the river approaches the Cas- 
cades. 

After an hour's travel, when the sun was 
nearly down, we searclied along the shore 
for a pleasant place, and halted to prepare 
sup))er. We had been well supplied by our 
friends at the mission with delicious salted 
salmon, which had been taken at the fattest 
season ; also, with potatoes, bread, coffee, 
and sugar. We were delighted at a change 
in our mode of travelling and living. The 
canoe sailed smoothly down the river : at 
night we encamped upon the shore, and a 
plentiful supply of comfortable provisions 
supplied the first of wants. We enjoyed the 
contrast which it presented to our late toil- 
some marchings, our night watchings, and 
our frequent privation of food. We were a 
motley group, but all happy : three unknown 
Indians ; Jacob, a colored man ; Mr. Preuss, 
a German ; Bernier, creole French ; and 
myself. 

Being now upon the ground explored by 
the South Sea expedition under Captain 
Wilkes, and having accomplished the object 
of uniting my survey with his, and thus pre- 
seniing a connected exploration from the 
Mississippi to the Pacific, and the winter be- 
ing at hand, I deemed it necessary to ecoao-' 



J13 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1845.. 



mize time by voyaging in the night, as is 
customary here, to avoid the high winds, 
which rise with tJie morning, and decline 
with tiie day. 

Accordingly, after an hour's halt, we again 
embarked, and resumed onr pleasant voyage 
down the river. The wind rose to a gale 
after several hours ; but tlie moon was very 
bright, and the wind was fair, and the canoe 
glanced rapidly down the stream, the waves 
breaking into foam alongside ; and our 
night voyage, as the wind bore us rapidly 
along between the dark mountains, was wild 
and interesting About midnight we put to 
the shore on a rocky beach, behind which 
was a dark-looking pine forest. We built up 
large fires among the rocks, which wore in 
large masses round aboiit ; and, arranging 
our blankets on the most sheltered places we 
could find, passed a deligiitful night. 

After an early breakfast, at daylight we 
resumed our journey, the weather being 
clear and beautiful, and the river smootii 
and still. On either side the mountains are 
all pine-timbered, rocky, and high. We 
were now approaching one of the m.irked 
features of tlie lower Columbia, where the 
river forms a great cascade, with a series of 
rapids, in breaking through the range of 
mountains to wiiicli the lofty peaks of Mount 
Hood and St. Helens belong, and which rise 
as great pillars of snow on either side of tiie 
passage. The main branch of the Sacra- 
mento river, and the TUimalh, issue in cas- 
cades from this range ; and the Columbia, 
breaking through it in a succession of cas- 
cades, gives the idea of cascades to the 
whole range ; and hence the name of Cas- 
cade Range, which it bears, and distin- 
?;uiBhe8 it from tiie Coast Range lower down. 
u making a short turn to the south, the 
river forms the cascades in breaking over a 
point of agglomerated masses of rock, leav- 
ing a handsome bay to the right, with seve- 
ral rocky pine-covered islands, and the 
mountains sweep at a distance around a 
cove where several small streams outer the 
bay. In less than an hour we halted on the 
left bank, about five minutes' walk above 
the cascades, where there were several In- 
dian huts, and where our guides signified it 
was customary to hire Indians to assist in 
making the -portage. When travelling with 
a boat as light as a canoe, which may 
easily be carried on tlie shoulders of tlie In- 
dians, this is much the better side of the 
river for the portage, as the ground liere is 
very good and level, being a handsome bot- 
tom, which I remarked was covered (as joas 
now always the case along the river) with a 
growth of green and fresh-looking grass. 
It was long before we could come to an. un- 
derstanding with the Indians ; but at iengtli, 
when tliey liad first received the price of 



their assi.stance in goods, they went vigor- 
ously to work ; and, in a shorter time than 
had been occupied in making our arrange- 
ments, the canoe, instruments, and baggage, 
were carried through (a distance of about 
half a mile) to the bank below the main 
cascade, where we again embarked, the 
water being white with fuam among ugly 
rocks, and boiling into a thousand whirl- 
pools. The boat passed with great rapidity, 
crossing and recrossing in the eddies of the 
current. After passing through about two 
miles of broken water, v/e ran some wild 
looking rapids, which are called the Lower 
Rapids, being the last on the river, which 
below is tranquil and smooth — a broad, mag- 
nificent stream. On a low broad point on 
the right bank of tlie river, at the lower eud 
of these rapids, were pitched many tents of 
the emigrants, who were waiting here for 
Lheir friends from above, or for boats and 
provisions which were e.xpected from Van- 
couver. In our passage down the rapids, I 
had noticed their camps along the shore, or 
transporting their goods across the portage. 
This portage makes a head of navigation, 
ascending the river. It is about two miles 
in length ; and above, to the Dalles, is 45 
miles of smooth and good navigation. 

We glided on without further interjuption 
between very rocky and high steep moun- 
tains, which sweep along the river valley at 
a little distance, covered with forests of pine, 
and showing occasionally lofty escarpments 
of red rock. Nearer, tlie shore is bordered 
by steep escarped hills and huge vertical 
rocks, from which the waters of tlie moun- 
tain reach (he river in a variety of beautiful 
fails, *sometimes several hundred feet in 
height. Occasionally along the river occur- 
red pretty bottoms, covered with the green- 
est verdure of the spring. To a profession- 
al farmer, however, it does not offer many 
places of sufficient extent to be valuable for 
agriculture ; and after passing a few miles 
below the Dalles, I had scarcely seen a place 
on the south shore where wagons could get 
to the river. The beauty of the scenery 
was heightened by the continuance of very 
delightful weather, resembling the Indian 
summer of the Atlantic. A few miles be- 
low the cascades, we passed a singular iso- 
lated hill ; and in the course of the next six 
miles occurred five very pretty falls from the 
heights en the left bank, one of them being 
of a very picturesque character ; and towards 
sunset we reached a remarkable point of 
rocks, distinguished, on account of prevail- 
ing high winds, and the delay it frequently 
occasions to the canoe navigation, by the 
name of Cape Horn. It borders the river 
in a high wall of rock, which comes boldly 
down into deep water ; and in violent galea 
down the river, and from the opposite sbore^^ 



1843. 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



113- 



which is the prevailing direction of strong 
winds, the water is dashed against it with 
considerable violence. It appears to form a 
serious obstacle to canoe travelling; and I 
was informed by Mr. Perkins, that in a voy- 
age up the river he had -been detained two 
weeks at this place, and was finally obliged 
to return to Vancouver. 

The winds of this region deserve a par- 
ticular study. They blow in currents, 
which show them to be governed by fixed 
laws ; and it is a problem how far they may 
come from the mountains, or from the ocean 
through the breaks in the mountains which 
let out the river. 

The hills here had lost something of their 
rocky appearance, and had already begun to 
decline. As the sun went down, we search- 
ed along the river for an inviting spot ; and, 
finding a clean rocky beach, where some 
large clry trees were lying on the ground, 
we ran our boat to the shore ; and, after an- 
otlier comfortable supper, ploughed our way 
along the river in darkness. Heavy clouds 
cov^ed the sky this evening, and the wind 
began to sweep in gusts among the trees, as 
if Ixid weather were coming. As we ad- 
vanced, the hills on both sides grew con- 
Btantly lower ; on the right, retreating from 
the shore, and forming a somewhat exten- 
sive bottom of intermingled prairie and 
wooded land. In the course of a few hours, 
and opposite to a small stream coming in 
from the north, called the Tea Prairie river, 
the -highlands on the left declined to the 
plains, and three or four miles belovi; disap- 
peared entirely on both sides, and the river 
entered the low country. The river had 
gradually expanded ; and when we emerged 
from the higlilands, the opposite shores were 
so distant as to appear indistinct in the un- 
certainty of the light. About 10 o'clock 
our pilots halted, apparently to confer about 
the course ; and, alter a little hesitation, 
pulled directly across an open expansion of 
tlie river, where the waves were somewhat 
rough for a canoe, the wind blowing very 
fresh. Much to our surprise, a few minutes 
afterwards we ran aground. Backing oft' 
our boat, we made repeated trials at various 
places to cross what appeared to be a point 
of shifting sand bars, where we had at- 
tempted to shorten the way by a cut-ofF. Fi- 
nally, one of our Indians got into the water, 
and waded about until he found a channel 
sufficiently deep, through which we wound 
along after him, and in a few minutes again 
entered the deep water below. As we pad- 
dled rapidly down the river, we heard the 
noise oi a saw mill at work on the right 
bank ; and, letting our boat float quietly 
down, we listened with pleasure to the unu- 
sual sounds; and before midnight encamped 
on the bank of the river, about a mile abdve 



Fort Vancouver. Our fine dry weather had 
given place to a dark cloudy night. At mid- 
night it began to rain ; and we found our- 
selves suddenly in the gloomy and humid 
season, v;hich, in the narrow region lying 
between the Pacific and the Cascade moun- 
tains, and for a considerable distance along 
the coast, supplies the place of winter. 

In the morning, the first object that at- 
tracted my attention was the barque Colum- 
bia, lying at anchor near the landing. She 
was about to start on her voyage to England, 
and was now ready for sea ; being detained 
only in waiting the arrival of the express 
bateaus, which descend the Columbia and 
its north fork with the overland mail from 
Canada and Hudson's bay, which had been 
delayed beyond their usual time. I immedi- 
ately waited upon Dr. McLaughlin, the ex- 
ecutive officer of the Hudson Bay Company, 
in the territory west of the Rocky moun- 
tains, who received me with the courtesy and 
hospitality for which he has been eminently 
distinguished, and which '"makes a forcible 
and delightful impression on a traveller 
from the long wilderness from which we had 
issued. I was immediately supplied by him 
with the necessJiry stores and provisions to 
refit and support my party in our contemplat- 
ed winter journey to the Slates ; and also 
with a Mackinaw boat and canoes, manned 
with Canadian and Iroquois voyageurs and 
Indians, for their transportation to the Dalles 
of the Columbia. In addition to this efficient 
kindness in furnishing me with these neces- 
sary supplies, I received from him a warm 
and gratifying sympathy in the suffering 
Vv'hich his great experience led him to antici- 
pate for us in our homeward journey, and a 
letter of recommendation and credit for any 
officers of the Hudson Bay Company into 
whose posts we might be driven by unex- 
pected misfortune. 

Of course, the future supplies for my party 
were paid for, bills on the Government of the 
United States being readily taken ; but every 
hospitable attention was extended to me, and 
I accepted an invitation to take a room in the 
fort, " and to 7nake myself at home whil^ I 
stayed." 

i found many American emigrants at the 
fort ; others had already crossed the river 
into their land of promise — the Walahmette 
valley. Others were daily arriving; and all 
of them had been furnished with shelter, so 
far as it could be afforded by the buildings 
connected with the establishment. Necessa- 
ry clothing and provisions (the latter to be 
afterwards returned in kind from the produce 
of their labor) were also furnished. This 
friendly assistance was of very great value 
to the emigrants, whose families were other- 
wise exposed to much suffering in tlie winter 
rains, which had now commenced, at the 



114 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



same time that tliey wore in want of all the 
common necessaries oi life. Those who had 
taken a water conveyance at the Nez Perce 
fort continued to arrive .^afeiy, with no other 
accident than has been already mentioned. 
The party wliich had cro.^sed over the Cas- 
cade mountains were rejwrted to have lost a 
number of their animals ; and those who had 
driven their stock down the Columbia had 
brought tliem safely in, and found for them a 
ready and very profitable market, and were 
already proposing to return to the States in 
the spring; for another supply. 

In the space of two days our preparations 
had been completed, and we were ready to 
set out on our return. It would have been 
very gratifyincj to liave gone down to the Pa- 
cific, and, solely in the interest and in the love 
of geography, to have seen the ocean on the 
western as well as on the eastern side of the 
continent, so as to give a satisfactory com- 
pleteness to the geographical picture which 
had been formed in our minds ; but the rainy 
.season had now regularly .set in, and the air 
was filled with fogs and rain, wiiich left no 
beauty in any scenery, and obstructed obser- 
vations. The object of my instructions had 
been entirely fulfilled in having connected 
our reconnoissance with the surveys of Cap- 
tain Wilkes ; and although it would have 
been agreeable and satisfactory to terminate 
here also our ruder astronomical observa- 
tions, I was not, for such a reason, justified 
to make a delay in waiting for favorable 
weather. 

Near sunset of the 10th, the boats left the 
fort, and encamped after making only a few 
miles. Our flotilla consisted of a Mackinaw 
barge and three canoes — one of them that in 
whicii we had descended the river ; and a 
party in all of twenty men. One of the emi- 
grants, Mr. Burnet, of Missouri, who had 
left his family and property at the Dalles, 
availed himself of the opportunity afforded 
by the return of our boats to bring them 
down to Vancouver. This gentleman, as 
well as the Messrs. Applegate, and others of 
the emigrants whom I saw, possessed intelli- 
gence and character, with the moral and in- 
tellectual stamina, as well as the enterprise, 
which give solidity and respectability to the 
foundation of colonies. 

November 11. — The morning was rainy 
and misty. We did not move with tiie prac- 
tised celerity of my own camp ; and it was 
near 9 o'clock when our motley crew had 
finished their breakfast and were ready to 
start. Once afloat, however, they worked 
steadily and well, and we advanced at a good 
rate up the river; and in the afternoon a 
breeze sprung up, which enabled us to add a 
sail to tJie oars. At evening we encamped 
on a warm-looking beach, on the right bank, 
at the foot of the high river hill, immediately 



at the lower end of Cape Horn. On the op- 
posite sliore is said to be a singular hole in 
the mountain, from which the Indians be- 
lieve comes the wind producing these gale.s. 
It is called the Devil's hole ; and the Indians, 
I was told, have been resolving to send down 
one of their slaves to explore the region be- 
low. At dark, the wind shifted into its 
stormy quarter, gradually increasing to a 
gale from the southwest ; and the sky be- 
coming clear, I obtained a good observation 
of an emersion of the first satellite ; the re- 
sult of which, being an absolute observation, 
I have adopted for the longitude of the place. 

Noccmher 12. — The wind during the night 
had increased to so much violence, that the 
broad river this morning was angry and 
white ; the waves breaking with considera- 
ble force against this rocky wall of the cape. 
Our old Irorjuois pilot was unwilling to risk 
the boats around the point, and I was not dis- 
posed to hazard the stores of our voyage for 
the delay of a day. Further observations 
were obtained during the day, giving for the 
latitude of the place 45° 33' 09" ; and the 
longitude, obtamed from the satellite, is 122 
6' 15". 

November 13. — We had a day of disagreea- 
ble and cold rain ; and, late in the afternoon, 
began to approach the rapids of the cascades. 
There is here a high timbered island on the 
left shore, below which, in descending, I had 
remarked in a bluff" on the river the extremi- 
ties of trunks of trees appearing to be im- 
bedded in the rock. Landing here this after- 
noon, I found in the lower part of the es- 
carpmeiit a stratum of coal and forest trees, 
imbedded between strata of altered clay 
containing the remains of vegetables, the 
leaves of which indicate that the plants were 
dicotyledonous. Among these, the stems of 
some of the ferns are not mineralized, but 
merely charred, retaining still their vegetable 
structure and substance ; and in this condi- 
tion a portion also of the trees remain. The 
indurated appearance and compactness of the 
strata, as well, perhaps, as the mineralized 
condition of the coal, are probably due to 
igneous action. Some portions of the coal 
precisely resemble in aspect the canal coal 
of England, and, with the accompanying 
fossils, iiave been referred to the tertiary for- 
mation. 

These strata appear to reist upon a mass 
of agglomerated rock, being but a few feet 
above the water of the river ; and over them 
is the escarpment of perhaps eighty feet, 
rising gradually in the rear towards the 
mountains. The wet and cold evening, and 
near approach of night, prevented me from 
making any other than a very slight examin- 
ation. 

The current was now very swift, and we 
wer# obliged to co-rddle the boat along the 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



115 



left shore, where the bank was covered with 
large masses of rocks. Night overtook us 
at the upper end of the island, a short dis- 
tance below the cascades, and v/e halted on 
the open point. In the meantime, the lighter 
canoes, paddled altogether by Indians, had 
passed ahead, and were out of sight. With 
them was the lodge, which was the only- 
shelter we had, with most of the bedding and 
provisions. We shouted, and fired guns ; 
but all to no purpose, as it was impossible 
for them to hear above the roar of the river ; 
and we remained all night without shelter, 
the rain pouring down all the time. The 
old voyageurs did not appear to mind it 
much, but covered themselves up as well as 
they could, and lay down on the sand beach, 
where they remained quiet until morning. 
The rest of us spent a rather miserable 
night ; and, to add to our discomfort, the in- 
cessant rain extinguished our tires ; and we 
were glad when at last daylight appeared, 
and we again embarked. 

Crossing to the right bank, we cordelled 
the boat along the shore, there being no 
longer any use for the paddles, and put into 
a little bay belov/ the upper rapids. Here 
we found the lodge pitched, and about twen- 
ty Indians sitting around a blazing fire witli- 
in, making a luxurious breakfast with sal- 
mon, bread, butter, sugar, coffee, and other 
provisions. In the forest, on the edge of the 
high bluff overlooking the river, is an Indian 
grave yard, consisting of a collection of 
tombs, in each of which were the scattered 
bones of many skeletons. The tombs were 
made of boards, which were ornamented with 
many figures of men and animals of the 
natural size — from their appearance, consti- 
tuting the armorial device by which, among 
Indians, the chiefs are usually known. 

The masses of rock displayed along the 
shores of the ravine in the neighborhood of 
the cascades are clearly volcanic products. 
Between this cove, which I called Grave- 
yard bay, and another spot of smooth wa,ter 
above, on the right, called Liiders bay, shel- 
tered by a jutting point of huge rocky masses 
at the foot of the cascades, the shore along 
the intervening rapids is lined with preci- 
pices of distinct strata of red and variously 
colored lavas, in inclined positions. 

The masses of rock forming the point at 
Luders bay consist of a porous trap, or 
basalt — a volcanic product of a modern 
period. The rocks belong to agglomerated 
masses, which form the immediate ground of 
the cascades, and have been already men- 
tioned as constituting a bed of cemented con- 
glomerate rocks appearing at various places 
along the river. Here they are scattered 
along the shores, and through the bed of the 
river, wearing the character of convulsion, 



which forms the impressive and prominent 
feature of the river at this place. 

Wherever we came in contact with the 
rocks of these mountains, we found them 
volcanic, which is probably the character of 
the range ; and at this time, two of the great 
snowy cones. Mount Regnier and St. Hel- 
ens, were in action. On the 23d of the pre- 
ceding November, St. Helens had scattered 
its ashes, like a light fall of snow, over the 
Dalles of the Columbia, 50 miles distant. 
A specimen of these ashes was given to me 
by Mr. Brewer, one of the clergymen at the 
Dalles. 

The lofty range of the Cascade mountains 
forms a distinct boundary between tlie oppo- 
site climates of tlie regions along its western 
and eastern bases. On the west, they pre- 
sent a barrier to the clouds of fog and rain 
whicli roll up from the Pacific ocean and 
beat against their rugged sides, forming the 
rainy season of the winter in the country 
along the coast. Into the brighter skies of 
the region along: their eastern base, this 
rainy wmter never penetrates ; and at the 
Dalles of the Columbia the rainy season is 
unknown, the brief winter being iimiled to a 
period of about two months, during which 
the earth is covered with the slight snows of 
a climate remarkably mild for so high a lati- 
tude. The Cascade range has an average 
distance of about 130 miles from the sea 
coast. It extends fiir both north and south 
of the Columbia, and is indicated to the dis- 
tant observer, both in course and position, by 
the lofty volcanic peaks which rise out of it, 
and which are visible to an immense dis- 
tance. 

During several days of constant rain, it 
kept our whole force laboriously employed 
in getting our barge and canoes to the upper 
end of the cascades. The portage ground 
was occupied by emigrant families ; their 
thin and insufficient clothing, bare-headed 
and bare-footed children, attesting the length 
of their journey, and showing that they had, 
in many instances, set out without a due 
preparation of what was indispensable. 

A gentleman named Luders, a botanist 
from the city of Hamburg, arrived at the bay 
I have called by his name while we were 
occupied in bringing up the boats. I was 
delighted to meet at such a place a man of 
kindred pursuits ; but we had only the plea- 
sure of a brief conversation, as his canoe, 
under the guidance of two Indians, waa 
about to run the rapids ; and I could not en- 
joy the satisfaction of regaling him with a 
breakfast, which, after his recent journey, 
would have been an extraordinary luxury. 
All of his few instruments and baggage were 
in the canoe, and he huiTied around by land 
to meet it at the Grave-yard bay ; but he 



116 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATFv'E. 



[1843. 



was scarcely out. of sij^ht, when, by the rare- 
lessnevSB ot the Indians, the boat waw drawn 
into the midst of the rapids, and glanced 
down the river, bottom up, with the loss of 
everythintr it contained. In the natural 
concern I felt for his mii^fortunc, I gave to 
the little cove the name of I.vjdcrs bay. 

Novemlmr 15. — We continued tivday our 
work at the portage. 

About noon, tlie two barges of tlic express 
from Montreal arrived at the upper portage 
landing, which, for large boats, i.s on the 
right bank of the river. They were a fine- 
looking crew, and among them I remarked 
a fre.sh-looking woman and her daughter, 
emigrants from Canada. It was satisfactory 
to see the order and speed with which these 
experienced watermen eflected the portage, 
and passed their boats over the cascades. 
They had arrived at noon, and in the evening 
they expected to reach Vancouver. These 
bateaus carry the express of the Hudson 
Bay Company to the highest navigal)le point 
of the north fork of the Columbia, whence 
it is carried by an overland party to lake 
Winipec, where it is divided — part going to 
Montreal, and part to Hudson Bay. Thus 
a regular communication is kept up between 
three very remote points. 

The Canadian emigrants were much cha- 
grined at the change of climate, and in- 
formed me that, only a few miles above, they 
had left a country of bright blue sky and a 
shining sun. The next morning the upper 
parts of the mountains which directly over- 
look the cascades were white with the fresh- 
ly fallen snow, while it continued to rain 
steadily below. 

liate in the afternoon we finished the port- 
age, and, embarking a'gain, moved a little 
distance np the right bank, in order to clear 
the smaller rapids of the cascades, and have 
a smooth river for the next morning. Though 
we made but a few miles, the weather im- 
proved immediately; and though the rainy 
country and the cloudy mountains were close 
behind, belore us was the bright sky ; so dis- 
tinctly is climate here marked by a moun- 
tain boundary. 

November 17. — We had to-day an oppor- 
tunity to complete the sketch of that por- 
tion of the river down which we had come 
by niglit. 

Many places occur along the river, where 
the stumps, or rather portions of the trunks 
of pine trees, are standing along the shore, 
and in the water, where they may be seen 
at a considerable depth below the surface, 
in the beautifully clear water. Tiiese col- 
lections of dead trees are called on tJie Co- 
lumbia the submerged firresl, and are sup- 
posed to have been created by the effects of 
some convulsion which formed the cascades, 
and which, by damniing up the river, placed 



I these trees under water and destroyed them. 
I But 1 venture to presume that the ca.s-cades 
I are older than the trees ; and as the.se sub- 
merged forests occur at five or six places 
along the river, I had an opportunity to sa- 
tisfy myself that they have be<'n formed by 
immense land slides from the mountains 
which here closely shut in the river, and 
which brought down with tiiem into the 
river the pines of the mountain. At one 
place, on the ri.rht bank, I remarked a place 
where a portion of one of these slides seem- 
ed to have planted itself, with all the ever- 
green foliage, and the vegetation of the 
neighboring hill, directly amidst the falling 
and yellow leaves of the river trees. It oc- 
curred to me that this would have been a 
beautiful illustration to the eye of a botanist. 

Following the course of a slide, which 
was very plainly marked along the moun- 
tain, I found that in the interior parts the 
trees were in their usual erect position ; but 
at the extremity of the slide they were rock- 
ed about, and IJirown into a confusion of in- 
clinations. 

About 4 o'clock in the afternoon we pass- 
ed a sandy bar in the river, whence we had 
an unexpected view of Mount Hood, bearing 
directly south by compass. 

During the day we used oar and sail, and 
at night had again a delightful camping 
ground, and a dry place to sleep upon. 

November 18. — The day again was pleas- 
ant and bright. At 10 o'clock we passed a 
rock island, on the right shore of the river, 
which the Indians use as burial ground ; and 
halting for a short time, about an hour after- 
wards, at the village of our Indian friends, 
early in the afternoon we arrived again at 
the Dalles. 

Carson had removed tlie camp up the river 
a little nearer to the hills, where the animal.g 
had better grass. We found everything in 
good order, and arrived ju.st in time to par- 
take of an excellent roast of California beef. 
My friend, Mr. Gilpin, had arrived in ad- 
vance of the party. His object in visiting 
this country had been to obtain correct in- 
formation of the Walahmette settlemento; 
and he had reached this point in his journey, 
highly pleased with the country over which 
he had travelled, and with invigorated 
health. On the following day he continued 
his journey, in our returning boats, to Van- 
couver. 

The camp was now occupied in making 
the necessary preparations for our homeward 
journey, which, though homeward, contem- 
plated a new route, and a great circuit to 
the south and southeast, and the exploration 
of the Great Basin between the Rocky moun- 
tains and the Sierra Nevada. Three principal 
objects w^je indicated, by report or by maps, 
asking on this route ; the character or ex- 



1843.] 



CAPT. FKEMONT'S NAKRATIVE. 



117 



igtence of which I wished to ascertain, and 
•which I assamed as landmarks, or leading 
■points, on the projected line of return. The 
first of these points was the Tlamulli lake, 
on the table-land between the head of Fall 
river, which comes to the Columbia, and the 
Sacramento, which goes to the bay of San 
Francisco ; and from which lake a river of 
iSie same name makes its way westwardly 
direct to the ocean. This lake and river are 
often called Klamei, but I have chosen to 
write its name according to the Indian pro- 
nunciation. The position of this lake, on 
tho line of inland communication between 
Oregon and California ; its proximity to the 
demarcation boundary of latitude 42° ; its 
imputed double character of lake, or meadow, 
according to the season of the year; and the 
hostile and warlike character attributed to 
the Indians about it— all made it a desirable 
object to visit and examine. From this lake 
our course was intended to be about south- 
east, to a reported lake called Mary's, at 
some days' journey in the Great Basin ; and i 
thence, still on southeast, to the reputed Bve- ! 
naventura river, which has had a place in 
so many maps, and countenanced the belief 
of the existence of a great river flowing from 
the Rocky mountains to the bay of San 
Francisco. From the Buenaventura the 
next point was intended to be in that section 
of the Rocky mountains which includes the 
heads of Arkansas river, and of the opposite 
waters of the Californian gulf ; and thence 
down the Arkansas to Bent's fort, and home. 
This was our projected line of return— a 
great part of it absolutely new to geographi- 
cal, botanical, and geological science— and 
tJie subject of reports in relation to lakes, 
rivers, deserts, and savages hardly above the 
condition of mere wild animals, which in- 
flamed desire to know what this terra in- 
cognita really contained. 

It was a serious enterprise, at the com- 
tmencement of winter, to undertake the tra- 
verse of such a region, and with a party 
consisting only of twenty-five persons, and 
•they of many nations — American, French, 
German, Canadian, Indian, and colored— 
and most of them young, several being un- 
der twenty-one years of age. All knew that 
a strange country was to be explored, and 
dangers and hardships to be encountered ; 
but no one blenched at the prospect. On 
the contrary', courage and confidence ani- 
mated the whole party. Cheerfulness, rea- 
diness, subordination, prompt obedience, cha- 
racterized all ; nor did any extremity of 
peril and privation, to which we were after- 
wards exposed, ever belie, or derogate from, 
the fine spirit of this brave and generous 
commencement. The course of the narra- 
tive will show at what point, and for what 
reasons, we were prevented from the com- 



plete execution of this plan, after having 
made considerable progress upon it, and how 
we were forced by desert plains and moun- 
tain ranges, and deep snows, far to the 
south, and near to the Pacific ocean, and 
along the western base of the Sierra Neva- 
da ; where, indeed, a new and arap.e field oJ 
exploration opened itself before us. For 
the present, we must follow the naiTative, 
which will first lead us south along the val- 
ley of Fall river, and the eastern base of the 
Cascade range, to the Tlamath lake, i>om 
which, or its margin, three rivers go in three 
directions— one. west, to the ocean ; anotiier 
north, to the Columbia ; the third south, to 
California. 

For the support of the party, I had pro- 
vided at Vancouver a supply of provisions 
for not less than three months, consisting 
principally of flour, peas, and tallow— the 
latter beino- used in cooking ; and, in addi- 
tion to this, I had purchased at the mission 
some California cattle, which were to be 
driven on the hoof. We had 104 mules and 
horses— part of the latter procured from the 
Indians about the mission ; and lor the sus- 
tenance of which, our reliance was upoa 
the grass which we should find, and the soil 
porous wood, which was to be substituted 
when there was none. 

Mr. Fit74iatrick, with Mr. Talbot and the 
remainder of the party, arrived on the 2l8t ; 
and the camp was now closety engaged in 
the labor of preparation. Mr. Perkins siic- 
ceeded in obtaining as a guide to the 1 la- 
math lake two Indians— one of whom had 
been there, and bore the marks of several 
wounds he had received from some of the 
Indians in the neighborhood ; and the other 
went along for company. In order to ena- 
ble us to obtain horses, he dispatched mes- 
sengers to the various Indian villages in the 
neighborhood, informing them that we were 
desirous to purchase, and appointing a day 
for them to bring them in. 

We made, in the mean time, several 
excursions in the vicinity. Mr. Perkins 
walked with Mr. Preuss and myself to the 
heights, about nine miles distant, on the op- 
posite side of the river, whence, la fine 
weather, an extensive view may be had over 
the mountains, including seven great peaks 
of the Cascade range ; but clouds, on this 
occasion, destroyed the anticipated pleasure, 
and we obtained bearings only to three that 
were visible : Mount Regnier, St. Helens, 
and INrtunt Hood. On the heights, about 
one mile south of the mission, a very tmo 
view may be had of Mount Hood and bt. 
Helens. In order to determine their posi- 
tion with as much accuracy as possible, the 
angular distances of the peaks were measur- 
ed with the sextant, at difl"erent fixed points 
from which they could be seen. 



118 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



The Indians brought in their horses at 
the appointed time, and we succeeded in 
obtaining a number in exchange for goods ; 
but they were relatively much higher here, 
where goods are plenty and at moderate 
pric€s, than we had found them in the more 
eastern part of our voyage. Several of the 
Indians inquired very anxiously to know if 
we had any dollars ; and the horses we 
procured were much fewer in number than 
I had desired, and of thin, inferior quality ; 
the oldest and poorest being those that 
were sold to us. These horses, as ever in 
our journey you will have occasion to re- 
rnark, are valuable for hardihood and great 
endurance. 

November 21. — At this place one of the 
men was discharged ; and at the request of 
Mr. Perkins, a Chinook Indian, a lad of 
nineteen, who was extremely desirous to 
" see the whites," and make some acquaint- 
ance with our institutions, was received into 
the party, under my special charge, with 
the understanding that I would again re- 
turn him to his friends. He iiad lived for 
some time in the household of Mr. Perkins, 
and spoke a i^ew words of the English lan- 
guage. 

November 25. — We were all up early, in 
the excitement of turning towards home. 
The stars were brilliant, and tiie morning 
cold — the thermometer at daylight 20^. 

Our preparations had been fully com- 
pleted, and to-day we commenced our jour- 
ney. The little wagon which had hitherto 
carried the instruments I judged it necessary 
to abandon ; and it was accordingly pre- 
sented to the mission. In all our long trav- 
elling, it had nev^ir been overturned or in- 
jured by any accident of the road ; and the 
only things broken were the glass lamps, and 
one of the front panels, which had been 
kicked out by an unruly Indian horse. The 
howitzer was the only wheeled carriage now 
remaining. We started about noon, when 
the weather had become disagreeably cold, 
with flurries of snow. Our friend Mr. Per- 
kins, whose kindness had been active and ef- 
ficient during our stay, accompanied us sev- 
eral miles on our road ; when he bade us 
farewell, and consigned us to the care of 
our guides. Ascending to the uplands be- 
yond the southern fork of the Ttnanens 
creek, we found tiie snow lying on the 
ground in frequent patches, although the 
pasture appeared good, and the new short 
grass was fresh and green. We fravelled 
over high, hilly land, and encamped on a 
little branch of Tinanens creek, where there 
were good grass and timber. The southern 
bank was covered with snow, wliich was 
scattered over the oottom , and the little 
creek, its borders lined with ice, had a chilly 
and wintry look. A number of Indiana had 



accompanied us so far on our road, and re- 
mained with us during the night. Two bad- 
looking fellows, who were detected in steal- 
ing, were tied and laid before the fire, and 
guard mounted over them during the night. 
The night was cold, and partially clear. 

November 26. — The morning was cloudy 
and misty, and but a few stars visible. Dur- 
ing the night water froze in the tents, and 
at sunrise the thermometer was at 20^. Left 
camp at 10 o'clock, the road leading along 
tributaries of the Tinanens, and being, 80 
far, very good. We turned to the right at 
the fork of the trail, ascending by a steep 
ascent along a spur to the dividing grounds- 
between this stream and the waters of FaH ] 
river. The creeks we had passed were- 
timbered principally with orik and other de- ' 
ciduous trees. Snow lies everywhere here 
on the ground, and we had a slight fall dur-r-p,- 
ing the morning ; but towards noon the gfaj(jjjj 
sky yielded to a bright sun. This niorniogf 
we had a grand view of St. Helens aod 
llegnier : the latter appeared of a conical 
form, and very lofty, leading tiie eye far up 
into the sky. The line of the timbered 
country is very distinctly marked hero, the 
bare hills making with it a remarkable con- 
trast. The summit of tiie ridge commanded 
a fine view of the Taih prairie, and the 
stream running through it, which is a tribu- 
tary to the Fall river, the chasm of which 
is visible to the right. A steep descent of 
a mountain hill brought us down into the 
valley, and we encamped on the stream af- 
ter dark, guided by the ligiit of fires, which 
some naked Indians belonging to a villaga 
on the opposite side were kindling for us oa 
the bank. This is a large branch of the 
Fall river. There was a broad band of 
thick ice some fifteen feet wide on either 
bank, and the river current is swift and 
bold. The night was cold and clear, and 
we made our astronomical observation this 
evening with the thermometer at 20^. 

In auticipalion of coming hardship, and 
to spare our horses, there was much walk- 
ing done to-day ; and Mr. Fitzpatrick and 
myself made the day's journey on loot. 
Somewhere near the mouth of this stream 
are the falls from which the river takes its 
name. 

November 27. — A fine view of Mount 
Hood this morning ; a rose-colored mass of 
snow, bearing S. 85'^ W. by compass. The 
sky is clear, and the air cold ; the thermom- 
eter 2^.5 below zero; the trees and bushes 
glittering white, and the rapid stream filled 
with floating ice. 

Sliletsi and the White Crane, two Indian 
chiefs who had accompanied us thus far, 
took their leave, and we resumed our jour- 
ney at 10 o'clock. We ascended by a steep 
hill from the river bottom, which is sandy, 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



119 



to a volcanic plain, around which lofty hills 
sweep in a regular form. It is cut up b}-^ 
gullies of basaltic rock, escarpments of 
which appear everywhere in the hills. 
This plain is called the Taih prairie, and is 
sprinkled with some scattered pines. The 
country is now far nnore interesting to a 
traveller than the route along the Snake 
and Columbia rivers. To our right we had 
always the mifUntains, from the midst of 
whose dark pine forests the isolated snowy 
peaks were looking out like giants. They 
served us for grand beacons to show the 
rate at which we advanced in our journey. 
Mount Hood was already becoming an old 
acquaintance, and, when we ascended the 
prairie, we obtained a bearing to Mount Jef- 
ferson, S. 23° W. The Indian superstition 
lias peopled these lofty peaks with evil spir- 
its, and they have never yet known the 
tread of a human foot. Sternly drawn 
against the sky, they look so high and steep, 
so snowy and rocky, that it would appear 
almost impossible to climb them ; but still a 
trial would have its attractions for the ad- 
venturous traveller. A small trail takes oif 
through the prairie, towards a low point in 
'the range, and perhaps there is here a pass 
into the Walahmctte valley. Crossing the 
plain, we descended by a rocky hill into the 
bed of a tributary of Fall river, and made 
an early encampment. The water was in 
boles, and frozen over, and we were obliged 
to cut through the ice for the animals to 
drink. An ox, which was rather trou- 
blesome to drive, was killed here for 
food. 

The evening was fine, the sky being very 
clear, and I obtained an immersion of the 
third satellite, with a good observation of an 
emersion of the first ; the latter of which 
gives for the longitude, 121° 02' 43" ; the 
latitude, by observation, being 45° 06' 45". 
The night was cold — the thermometer dur- 
ing the observations standing at 9°. 

November 28. — The sky was clear in the 
morning, but suddenly clouded over, and at 
sunrise began to snow, with the thermome- 
ter at 18°. 

We traversed a broken high country, 
partly timbered with pine, and about noon 
crossed a mountainous ridge, in which, from 
the rock occasionally displayed, the forma- 
tion consists of compact lava. Frequent 
tracks of elk were visible in the snow. On 
our right, in the afternoon, a high plain, 
partially covered with pine, extended about 
ten miles, to the foot of the Cascade moun- 
tains. 

At evening we encamped in a basin nar- 
rowly surrounded by rocky hills, after a 
day's journey of 21 miles. The surround- 
ing rocks are either volcanic products, or 
highly altered by volcanic action, consisting 



of quartz and reddish-colored silicious 
masses. 

November 29. — We emerged from the 
basin, by a narrow pass, upon a considerable 
branch of Fall river, runr.ing to the east- 
ward through a narrow valley. The trail, 
descending this stream, brought us to a lo 
cality of hot springs, which were on either- 
bank. Those on the left, which were 
formed into deep handsome basins, would 
have been delightful baths, if tlie outer air 
had not been so keen, the thermometer in 
these being at 89°. There were others, on 
the opposite side, at the foot of an escarp- 
ment, in which the temperature of the water 
was 134°. These waters deposited around 
the spring a brecciated mass of quartz and 
feldspar, much of it of a reddish color. 

We crossed the stream here, and ascend- 
ed again to a high plain, from an elevated 
point of which we obtained a view of six 
of the great peaks — Mount Jefferson, follow- 
ed to the southward by two others of the 
same class ; and succeeding, at a still great- 
er distance to the southward, were three 
other lower peaks, clustering together in a 
branch ridge. These, like the great peaks, 
were snowy masses, secondary only to 
them ; and, from the best examination our 
time permitted, we are inclined to believe 
that the range to which they belong is a 
branch from the great chain which here 
bears to the westward. The trail during 
the remainder of the day followed near to 
the large stream on the left, which was con- 
tinuously walled in between high rocky- 
banks. We halted for the night on a little 
by-stream. 

November 30. — Our journey to-day was 
short. Passing over a high plain, on which 
were scattered cedars, with frequent beds 
of volcanic rock in fragments interspersed 
among the grassy grounds, we arrived sud- 
denly on the verge of the steep and rockj^ 
descent to the valley of the stream we had 
been following, and which here ran directly 
across our path, emerging from the moun- 
tains on the right. You will remark that 
the country is abundantly watered with large 
streams, which pour down from the neigh- 
boring range. 

These streams are characterized by the 
narrow and chasm-like valleys in which 
they run, generally sunk a thousand feet be- 
low the plain. At the verge of this plain, 
they frequently commence in vertical preci- 
pices of basaltic rock, and which leave only 
casual places at which they can be entered 
by horses. The road across the country, 
which would otherwise be very good, is 
rendered impracticable for wagons by these 
streams. There is another trail among the 
mountains, usually followed in the summer, 
which the snows now compelled us to avoid ; 



120 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843, 



and I have reason to believe that this, pass- 
ing nearer the heads of these streams, 
would afford a much better road. 

At such places, the gun carriage was un- 
lirnbercd, and separately descended by hand. 
Continuing a few miles up the left bank of 
the river, we encamped early in an open 
bottom among tlie pines, a short distance be- 
low a lodge of Indians. Here, along the 
river the bluffs present escarpments seven 
or eight hundred feet in height, containing 
strata of a very fine porcelain clay, overlaid, 
at the height of about five liundred feet, by 
a massive str.itum of compact basalt one 
hundred feet in thickness, which again is 
succeeded above by other strata of volcanic 
rocks. The clay strata are variously color- 
ed, Kome of them very nearly as while as 
chalk, and very fine grained. Specimens 
brought from tiiose have been subjected to 
microscopicu] examination by Professor 
Bailey, of West Point, and are considered by 
hlcfl to constitute one of the most remarkable 
depobitcs of fiuviatile infusoria on record. 
While they abound in genera and species 
which are common in fresh water, but which 
rarely thrive where the water is even brack- 
ish, not one decidedly marine form is to be 
found among them ; and their fre-sh-waler 
origin is therefore beyond a doubt. It is 
equally certain that tlicy lived and died at 
the situation where they were found, as they 
could scarcely have been transported by 
running waters without an admi.xture of 
sandy particles; from which, however, they 
zse remarkably free. Fossil infusoria of'a 
fresh-water origin had been previously de- 
tected by Mr. Bailey in specimens brought 
by Mr. James D. Dana from the tertiary 
formation of Oregon. Most of the species 
in those specimens differed so much from 
those now living and known, that he was led 
to infer that they might belong to extinct 
species, and considered them also as afford- 
ing proof of an alternation, in the formation 
from which they were obtained, of fresh 
and salt water deposites, which, common 
enough in Europe, had not hitherto been 
noticed in the United States. Coming evi- 
dently from a locality entirely different, our 
specimens show very few species in com- 
mon with those brought by Mr. Dana, but 
bear a much closer resemblance to those in- 
habiting the northeastern States. It is pos- 
sible that they are from a more recent de- 
posite ; but the presence of a few remark- 
able forms which are common to the two 
localities renders it more probable that there 
in no great difference in their age. 

I obtained here a good observation of an 
emersion of the second satellite ; but clouds, 
which rapidly overspread the sky, prevented 
the usual number of observations. Those 
which we succeeded in obtaining are, how- 



ever, good ; and give for the latitude of the 
place 44° 35' 23", and for the longitude 
from the satellite 121° 10' 25". 

DcccjTiher 1. — A short distance above onr 
encampment, we crossed this river, which 
was thickly lined along its banks with ice. 
In common with all these mountain streams, 
the water was very clear, and the current 
swift. It was not everywhere fordable, 
and the water was three or fu^r feet deep at 
our crossing, and perhaps a hundred feet 
wide. As was frequently the case at such 
places, one of the mules got his pack, con- 
sisting of sugar, thoroughly wet, and turued 
into molasses. One of the guides informed 
me tliat this was a " salmon v/ater," and 
pointed out several ingeniously-contrived 
places to calch the fish ; among the pines in 
the bottom I saw an immense one, about 
twelve feet in diameter. A steep ascent 
from the opposite bank delayed us again ; 
and as, by the information of our guides, 
grass would soon become very scarce, we 
encamped on the height of land, in a marshy 
place among the pines, where there was an 
abundance oi'grass. We found here a single 
Nez PerciJ family, v/ho had a very handsome 
horse in their drove, which we endeavor- 
ed to obtain in exchange for a good cow ; 
but the man " had two hearts," or, rather, 
he had one and his wife had another : she 
wanted the cow, but he loved the horse too 
much to part with it. These people atlaoh 
great value to cattle, with which they are 
endeavoring to supply themselves. 

December 2. — In the first rays of the sun, 
the mountain peaks this morning presented 
a beautiful appearance, the snow being en- 
tirely covered with a hue of rosy gold. We 
travelled to-day over a vei-y stony, elevated 
plain, about which were scattered cedar and 
pine, and encamped on another large branch 
of Fall river. We were gradually ascend- 
ing to a more elevated region, which would 
have been indicated by the rapidly-increas- , 
ing quantities of snow and ice, had we not 
known it by other means. A nmle which, 
was packed with our cooking utensils wan- 
dered off among the pines unperccived, and 
several men were sent back to search for it. 

December 3. — Leaving Mr. Fitzpatrick 
with the party, I went ahead with the how- 
itzer and a few men, in order to gain time, 
as our progress with the gun was necessa- 
rily slower. The country continued the 
same — very stony, with cedar and pine ; 
and we rode on until dark, when we en- 
camped on a hillside covered with snow, 
which we used to-night for water, as we 
were unable to reach any stream. 

December 4. — Our animals had taken the 
back track, although a great number were 
hobbled ; and we were consequently delayed 
uutil noon. Shortly after we had left thia 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



121 



encampment, the mountain trail from the 
Dalles joined that on which we were travel- 
ling. After passing for several miles over 
an artemisia plain, the trail entered a beauti- 
ful pine forest, through which we travelled 
for several hours ; and about 4 o'clock de- 
scended into the valley of another large 
branch, on the bottom of which were spaces 
of open pines, with occasional meadows of 
good grass, in one of which we encamped. 
The stream is very swift and deep, and about 
40 feet wide, and nearly half frozen over. 
Among the timber here, are larches 140 feet 
high, and over 3 feet in diameter. We had 
to-night the rare sight of a lunar rainbow. 

December 5. — To-day the country was all 
pine forest, and beautiful weather made our 
journey delightful. It was too warm at noon 
for winter clothes ; and the snow, which lay 
everywhere in patches through the forest, 
was melting rapidly. After a few hours' 
ride, we came upon a fine stream in the 
midst of the forest, which proved to be the 
principal branch of Fall river. It was oc- 
casionally 200 feet wide — sometimes nar- 
rowed to 50 feet ; the waters very clear, 
and frequently deep. We ascended along 
the river, which sometimes presented sheets 
of foaming cascades ; its banks occasionally 
blackened with masses of scoriated rock ; 
and found a good encampment on the verge 
of an open bottom, which had been an old 
camping ground of the Cayuse Indians. A 
great number of deer horns were lying about, 
indicating game in the neighborhood. The 
timber was uniformly large ; some of the 
pines measuring 22 feet in circumference at 
the ground, and 12 to 13 feet at six feet 
above. 

In all our journeying, wo had never trav- 
elled through a country where the rivers 
were so abounding in falls ; and the name 
of this stream is singularly characteristic. 
At every place where we come in the neigh- 
borhood of the river, is heard the roaring of 
falls. The rock along the banks of the 
stream, and the ledge over which it falls, is 
a scoriated basalt, with a bright metallic 
fracture. The stream goes over in one 
clear pitch, succeeded by a foaming cataract 
of several hundred yards. In the little bot- 
tom above the falls, a small stream dis- 
charges into an entonnoir, and disappears 
below. 

We had made an earl)' encampment, and 
in the course of the evening Mr. Fitzpatrick 
joined us here with the lost mule. Our 
lodge poles were nearly worn 6nt, and we 
found here a handsome set, leaning against 
one of the trees, very white, and cleanly 
scraped. Had the owners been here, we 
would have purchased them ; but as they 
were not, we merely left the old ones in 
their place, with a small quantity of tobacco. 



December 6. — The morning was frosty 
and clear. We continued up the stream on 
undulating forest ground, over which th«re 
was scattered much falling timber. We 
met here a village of Nez Perce Indians, 
who appeared to be coming down from the 
mountains, and had with them fine band.s of 
horses. With them were a few Snake In- 
dians of the root-digging species. From 
the forest we emerged into an o[)en valley 
ten or twelve miles wide, through which the 
stream was flowing tranquilly, upwards of 
two hundred feet broad, with occasional isl- 
ands, and bordered with fine broad bottoms. 
Crossing the river, which here issues from 
a great mountain ridge on the right, we con- 
tinued up the southern and smaller branch, 
ovCr a level country, consisting of find 
meadow land, alternating with pine forests, 
and encamped on it early in the evening. A 
warm sunshine made the day pleasant. 

December 7. — To-day we bad good trav- 
elling ground ; the trail leading sometimes 
over rather sandy soils in the pine forest, 
and sometimes over meadow land along th& 
stream. The great beauty of the country 
in summer constantly suggested itself to our 
imaginations; and even now we found it 
beautiful, as we rode along these meadows, 
from half a mile to two miles wide. The 
rich soil and excellent wiiter, surrounde<i by 
noble forests, make a picture that would de- 
light the eye of a farmer. 

I observed to-niglit an occultation of n 
Geminorum ; which, although at the bright 
limb of the moon, appears to give a very 
good result, that has been adopted for the 
longitude. The occultation, observations 
of satellites, and our position deduced from 
daily surveys with the compass, agree re- 
markably well together, and mutually sup- 
port and strengthen each other. The lati- 
tude of the camp is 43° 30' 36" ; and longi- 
tude, deduced from the occultation, 121^ 
33' 50". 

December 8. — To-day we crossed the last 
branch of the Fall river, issuing, like all tha 
others we had crossed, in a southwesterly 
direction from the mountains. Our direc- 
tion was a little east of south, the trail lead- 
ing constantly through pine forests. The 
soil was generally bare, consisting, in great- 
er part, of a yellowish white pumice stone, 
producing varieties of magnificent pines, 
but not a blade of grass ; and to-night our 
horses were obliged to do without food, and 
use snow for water. These pines are re- 
markable for the red color of the bolls ; and 
among them occurs a species, of which tha 
Indians had inibrmed me when leaving tha 
Dalles. The unusual size of the cone (16 
or 18 inches long) had attracted their atten- 
tion ; and they pointed it out to me amonw 
the curiosities of the country. They aid 



J22 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



raore remarkable for their large diameter 
than their height, which ubually averages 
only about 120 feet. The leaflets are short 
— only two or three inches long, and five in 
a sheath ; the bark of a red color. 

Diccmbcr 9. — The trail leads always 
through splendid pine forests. Crossing 
dividing grounds by a very fine road, we 
descended very gently towards the south. 
The weather was pleasant, and we halted 
late. The soil was very much like that of 
yesterday ; and on the surface of a hill, 
near our encampment, were displayed beds 
of pumice stone ; but tiie soil [)roduced no 
grass, and again the animals fared badly. 

Dcccml/er 10. — The country began to 
improve ; and about 1 1 o'clock we reached 
a spring of cold water on the edge of a 
savannah, or grassy meadow, which our 
guides informed us was an arm of the Tla- 
math lake ; and a few miles further we en- 
tered upon an extensive meadow, or lake 
of grass, surrounded by timbered mountains. 
This was the Tlamath lake. It was a pic- 
turesque and beautiful spot, and rendered 
more attractive to us by the abundant and 
excellent grass, which our animals, after 
travelling through pine forests, so much 
needed ; but the broad sheet of water which 
constitutes a lake was not to be seen. Over- 
looking it, immediately west, were several 
snowy knobs, belonging to what we have 
considered a branch of the Cascade range. 
A low point covered with pines made out 
into the lake, which afforded us a good place 
for an encampment, and for the security of 
our horses, which were guarded in view on 
the open meadow. The character of cou- 
rage and hostility attributed to the Indians 
of this quarter induced more than usual pre- 
caution; and, seeing smokes rising from the 
middle of the lake (or savannah) an;! along 
the opposite shores, I directed the howitzer 
to be fired. It was the first time our guides 
had seen it discharged ; and the bursting of 
the shell at a distance, which was some- 
thing like the second fire of the gun, amazed 
and bewildered them with delight. It in- 
spired them with triumphant feelings ; but 
on the camps at a di.-5tance the effect was 
different, for the smokes in the lake and on 
the shores immediately disappeared. 

The point on which we were encamped 
forms, with the opposite eastern shore, a 
narrow neck, connecting the body of the 
lake with a deep cove or bay which receives 
the principal affluent stream, and over the 
greater part of which the water (or rather 
ice) was at this time dispersed in shallow 
pool.'?. Among the grass, and scattered 
over the prairie lake, appeared to be similar 
marshes. It ia simply a shallow basin, 
which, for a short period at the time of 
melting snows, is covered with water from 



the neighboring mountains ; but this prob- 
ably soon runs off, and leaves for the re- 
mainder of the year a green savannah, 
through the midst of which the river lla- 
math, which flows to the ocean, winds its 
way to the outlet on the southwestern side. 

December 11. — No Indians made their 
appearance, and I determined to pay thenrj 
a visit. Accordingly, the people were gath- 
ered together, and we rode out towards the 
village in the middle of the lake, which one 
of our guides had previously visited. It 
could not be directly approached, as a large 
part of the lake appeared a marsh ; and 
there were sheets of ice among the grass, 
on which our horses could not keep their 
footing. We therefore followed the guide 
for a considerable distance along the forest ; 
and then turned off towards the village, 
which we soon began to see was a few large 
huts, on the tops of which were collected 
the Indians. When we had arrived withia 
half a mile of the village, two persons were 
seen advancing to meet us ; and, to please 
the fancy of our guides, we ranged ourselves 
into a long line, riding abreast, while they 
galloped ahead to meet the strangers. 

We were surprised, on riding up, to find 
one of them a woman, having never before 
known a squaw to take any part in the busi- 
ness of war. They were the village chief 
and his wife, who, in excitement and alarm 
at the unusual event and appearance, had 
come out to meet their fate together. The 
chief was a very prepossessing Indian, with, 
very handsome features, and a singularly 
soft and agreeable voice — so remarkable as 
to attract general notice. 

The huts were grouped together on the 
bank of the river, which, from being spread 
out in a shallow marsh at the upper end of 
the lake, was collected here into a single 
stream. They were large round huts, per- 
haps 20 feet in diameter, with rounded tops, 
on which was the door by which they de- 
scended into the interior. Within, they 
were supported by posts and beams. 

Almost like plants, these people seem to 
have adapted themselves to the soil, and to 
he growing on what the immediate locality 
afforded. Tiieir only subsistence at this 
time appeared to be a small fish, great quan- 
tities of which, that had been smoked and 
dried, were suspended on strings about the 
lodge. Heaps of straw were lying around ; 
and their residence in the midst of grass 
and rushes had taught them a peculiar skill 
in converting this material to useful pur- 
poses. Their shoes were made of straw 
or grass, which seemed well adapted for a 
snowy country ; and the women wore on 
their head a closely woven basket, which, 
made a very good cap. Among other 
things, were parti-colored mats about four 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



123 



feet square, which we purchased to lay on 
the snow under our blankets, and to use for 
table cloths. 

Numbers of singular-looking dogs, re- 
sembling wolves, were sitting on the tops 
of the huts ; and of these we purchased a 
young one, which, after its birthplace, was 
named Tlamath. Tbe language spoken by 
'Ihese Indians is different from that of the 
Shoshonee and Columbia river tribes ; and 
otherwise than by signs they cannot under- 
Btand each other. They made us compre- 
hend that they were at war with the people 
who lived to the southward and to the east- 
ward ; but I could obtain from them no 
certain information. The river on which 
Ihey live enters the Cascade mountains on 
the western side of the lake, and breaks 
through them by a passage impracticable for 
travellers ; but over the mountains, to the 
northward, are passes which present no 
other obstacle than in the almost impene- 
trable forests. Unlike any Indians we had 
previously seen, these wore shells in their 
.noses. We returned to our camp, after re- 
maining here an hour or two, accompanied 
by a number of Indians. 

In order to recruit a little the strength of 
our animals, and obtain some acquaintance 
with the locality, we remained here for the 
remainder of the day. By observation, the 
latitude of the camp was 420 5G' 51"; and 
the diameter of the lake, or meadow, as has 
been intimated, about 20 miles. It is a pic- 
turesque and beautiful spot ; and, under the 
hand of cultivation, might become a little 
paradise. Game is found in the forest ; 
timbered and snowy mountains skirt it, and 
fertility characterizes it. Situated near the 
heads of three rivers, and on the line of in- 
land communication with California, and 
near to Indians noted for treachery, it will 
naturally, in the progress of the settlement 
of Oregon, become a point for military oc- 
cupation and settlement. 

From Tlamath lake, the further continua- 
tion of our voyage assumed a character of 
discovery and exploration, which, from the 
Indians here, we could obtain no informa- 
tion to direct, and where the imaginary 
maps of the country, instead of assisting, 
exposed us to suffering and defeat. In our 
journey acro.ss th6 desert, Mary's lake, and 
tlie famous Buenaventura river, were two 
points on which I relied to recruit the ani- 
mals, and repose the party. Forming, 
agreeably to the best maps in my possession, 
a connected water line from the Rocky 
inountains to the Pacific ocean, I felt no 
other anxiety than to pass safely across the 
intervening desert to the banks of the Bue- 
naventura, where, in the softer climate of 
a more southern latitude, our horses might 
.find grass to sustain them, and ourselves be 



sheltered from the rigors of winter and from 
the inhospitable desert. The guides who 
had conducted us thus far on our journey 
were about to return ; and I endeavored in 
vain to obtain others to lead us, even for 
a few days, in the direction (cast) which we 
wished to go. The chief to whom I applied 
alleged the want of horses, and the snov/ on 
the mountains across which our course 
would carry us, and the sickness of his fam- 
ily, as reasons for refusing to go with us. 

December 12. — This morning the carap^ 
was thronged with Tlamath Indians from 
the southeastern shore of the lake ; but, 
knowing the treacherous disposition which 
is a remarkable characteristic of the In- 
dians south of the Colum.bia, the camp was 
kept constantly on its guard. I was not 
unmindful of the disasters which Smith and 
other travellers had met with in this coun- 
try, and therefore was equally vigilant in 
guarding against treachery and violence. 

According to the best information I had 
been able to obtain from the Indians, in 
a few days' travelling we should reach ano- 
ther large water, probably a lake, which 
they indicated exactly in the course we 
were about to pursue. We struck our tents 
at 10 o'clock, and crossed the lake in a 
nearly east direction, where it has the least 
extension — the breadth of the arm being 
here only about a mile and a half. There 
were ponds of ice, with but little grass, for 
the greater part of the way ; and it was dif- 
ficult to get the pack animals across, which 
fell frequently, and could not get up with 
their loads, unassisted. The morning v^-as 
very unpleasant, snow falling at intervals in 
large flakes, and the sky dark. In about 
two hours we succeeded in getting the ani- 
mals over ; and, after travelling another 
hour along the eastern shore of the lake, we 
turned up into a cove where there was 
a sheltered place among the timber, with 
good grass, and encamped. The Indians, 
who had accompanied us so far, returned to 
their village on the southeastern shore. 
Among the pines here, I noticed some five 
or six feet in diameter. 

December 13. — The night has been cold ; 
the peaks around the lake gleam out bright- 
ly in the morning sun, and the thermom- 
eter is at zero. We continued up the hol- 
low formed by a small affluent to the lake, 
and immediately entered an open pine forest 
on the mountain. The way here was some- 
times obstructed by fallen trees, and the 
snow was four to twelve inches deep. The 
mules at the gun pulled heavily, and walk- 
ing was a little laborious. In the midst of 
the wood, we heard the sound of galloping 
horses, and were agreeably surprised by the 
unexpected arrival of our Tlamath chief, 
with several Indians. He seemed to have 



124 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



(19-43 



found his conJnct inhospitable in letting the 
strangers depart without a guide through 
the snow, and had come, with a few others, 
to pilot us a day or two on the way. After 
traveliiiig in an easterly direction through 
the forest for about four hours, we reached 
a considerable stream, with a border of good 
grass ; and here, by tbo advice of our guides, 
we encamped. It is about thirty feet wide, 
and two to foisr feet deep; the water clear, 
with some current ; and, according to the 
information of our Indians, is llie principal 
afihient to the lake, and the head water of 
the Tlamath river. 

A very r-lear sky enabled me to obtain 
here to-night good observations, including 
an emersion of the first satellite of Jupiter, 
which give for the longitude 12 h"" 20' 42", 
and for the latitude 42° 51' 26". Tliis 
emersion coincides remarkably well with 
the result obtained from an occultation at 
the encampruent of December 7lh to 8th, 
1843 ; from which place, the line of our 
survey gives an easting of thirteen miles. 
The day's journey was 12 miles. 

December 14. — Our road was over a 
broad mountain, and we rode seven hours in 
a thick snow storm, always through pine 
forests, when we came down upon the head 
■waters of another stream, on which there 
•was grass. The snow lay deep on the 
ground, and only the high swamp grass ap- 
}>eared above. The Indians were thinly 
clad, and I had remarked during the day that 
they suffered from the cold. This evening 
they told me that the snow was getting too 
deep on the mountain, and I could not in- 
duce them to go any farther. The stream 
■we had struck issued from the mountain in 
an easterly direction, turning to the south- 
■ward a short distance below ; and, drawing' 
its course upon the ground, they made us 
comprehend that it pursued its way for a 
long distance in that direction, uniting with 
many other streams, and gradually becom- 
ing a great river. Without the subsequent 
information, which confirmed the opinion, 
■we became immediately satisfied that this 
water formed the principal stream of the 
Sacramento river ; and, consequently, tliat 
this iiKtin <i,fl]iit'iil of the bay of San Fran- 
cisco had' its source williin the limits of the 
United States, and opposite a tributary to 
the Columbia, and near the head of the 
Tlamath river; which goes to the ocean 
north of 42'^, and within the United States. 

December 15. — A present, consisting of 
useful goods, afibrded much satisfaction to 
our guides ; and, showing them the national 
flag, I explained that it was a symbol of our 
nation ; and they engaged always to receive 
it in a friendly manner. The chief pointed 
out a course, by following which wc would 
arrive at the big water, where no more 



snow was to be found. Travelling in a di- 
rection N. 60° E. by compass, which the 
Indians informed me would avoid a bad 
mountain to the right, we crossed the Sa- 
cramento where it turned to the southward^ 
and entered a grassy level plain — a smaller 
Grand Rond ; from the lower end of which 
the river issued into an inviting country of 
low rolling hills. Crossing a hard-froaea 
swamp on the farther side of the Rond, we 
entered again the pine forest, in which very 
deep snow made our travelling slow and la- 
borious. We were slowly but gradually as- 
cending a mountain ; and, after a hard jour- 
ney of seven hours, we came to some naked 
})laces among the timber, where a few tufts 
of grass showed above the snow, on the 
side of a hollow; and here wc encamped. 
Our cow, which every day got poorer, was 
killed here, but the meat was rather tough, 
December 16. — We travelled this morn- 
ing through snow about three feet deep, 
which, being crusted, very much cut the 
feet of our animals. The mountain still 
gradually rose ; we crossed several spring 
heads covered with quaking asp ; otherwise 
it was all pine forest. The air was dark 
with falling snow, which everywhere weigh- 
ed down the trees. The depths of the for- 
est were profoundly still ; and below, we 
scarcely felt a breath of the wind which 
whirled the snow through their branches. I 
found that it required some exertion of con- 
stancy to adhere steadily, to one course 
through the woods, when we were uncertain 
how far the forest extended, or what lay 
beyond ; and, on account of our animals, it 
would be bad to spend another night on the 
mountain. Towards noon the forest looked 
clear ahead, appearing suddenly to ternai- 
nate ; and beyond a certain point we could 
see no trees. Riding rapidly ahead to this 
spot, we found ourselves on the verge of a 
vertical and rocky ■wall of the mountain. 
At our feet — more than a thousand feet be- 
low — we looked into a green prairie coun- 
try, in which a beautiful lake, some twenty 
miles in length, was spread along the foot 
of the mountains, its shores bordered with 
green grass. Just then the sun broke out 
among the clouds, and illuminated the coun- 
try below, while around us the storm raged 
fiercely. Not a particle of ice was to be 
seen on the lake, or snow on its borders, 
and all was like summer or spring. The 
glow of the sun in the valley below bright- 
ened iip our hearts with sudden pleasure ; 
and we made the woods ring with joyful 
shouts to those behind ; and gradually, as 
each came up, he stopped to enjoy the un- 
expected scene. Shivering on snow three 
feet deep, and stiffening in a cold north 
wind, we exclaimed at once that the names 
of SHouner Lake and Winter Ridge ebould' 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREiMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



125 



be applied to these two proximate places of 
such sudden and violent contrast. 

Wc were naw immediately on the verge 
of the forest land, in which we had been 
travelling so many days ; and, looking for- 
ward to the east, scarce a tree was to be 
seen. Viewed from our elevation, the face 
of the country exhibited only rocks and 
grass, and presented a region in which the 
artemisia became the principal wood, fur- 
nishing to its scattered inhabitants fuel for 
their ftrcs, building material for their huts, 
and shelter for the small game which minis- 
ters to their hunger and nakedness. Broad- 
ly marked by the boundary of the mountain 
wall, and immediately below us, were the 
first waters of that Great Interior Basin 
which has the Waftsatch and Bear river 
mountains for its eastern, and the Sierra 
Nevada for its western rim ; and the edge 
of which we had entered upwards of three 
months before, at the Cireat Salt lake. 

When we had sulTiciently admired the 
scene below, we began to think about de- 
scending, which here was impossible, and 
we turned towards the north, travelling al- 
ways along the rocky w'all. We continued 
on for four or five miles, making ineffectual 
attempts at several places ; and at length 
succeeded in getting down at one which was 
extremely difficult of descent. Night had 
closed in before the foremost reached the 
bottom, and it was dark before we all found 
ourselves together in the valley. There 
were three or four half dead dry cedar trees 
on the shore, and those who first arrived 
kindled bright fires to light on the others. 
One of the mules rolled over and over two 
or three hundred feet into a ravine, but re- 
covered himself, without any other injury 
than to his pack ; and the howitzer was left 
midway the mountain until morning. By 
observation, the latitude of this encampment 
is 42<^^ 57' 22". It delayed us until near 
noon the next ^y to recover our.selves and 
put every thing in order ; and we made only 
a short camp along the western shore of the 
J:ikr', which, in the .summor temperature we 
enjoyed to-day, justified the name we had 
given it. Our course would have taken us 
to the other shore, and over tlie highlands 
beyond ; but I distrusted the appearance of 
the country, and decided to follow a plainly 
beaten Indian trail leading along this side 
of the lake. We were now in a country 
where the scarcity of water and of grass 
makes travelling dangerous, and great cau- 
tion was necessary. 

December 18. — We continued on the trail 
along the narrow strip of land between the 
lake and the high rocky wall, from which 
we had looked down two days before. Al- 
most every half mile we crossed a little 
spring, or stream of pure cold water ; and 



the grass was certainly as fresh and green 
as in the early spring. F'rom the white 
efllorescerice along the shore o%the lako^ 
we were enabled to judge that the water 
was impure, like that of lakes we subse- 
quently found ; but the mud prevented us ' 
from approaching it. We encamped near 
the eastern point of the lake, where there 
appeared between the hills a broad and low 
connecting hollow with the country beyond. 
From a rocky hill in the rear, I could sec, 
marked out by a line of yellow dried grass, 
the bed of a stream, which probably con- 
nected the lake with other waters in the 
spring. 

The observed latitude of this encampment 
is 423 42' 37". 

December 19. — After two hours' ride in 
an easterly direction, through a low country, 
the high ridge with pine forest still to our 
right, and a rocky and bald bat lower one 
on the left, we reached a considerable fresh- 
water stream, which issues from the piny 
mountains. So far as we had been able to 
judge, between this stream and the lake we 
liad crossed dividing grounds ; and there 
did not appear to be any connection, as 
might be inferred from the impure condition 
of the lake water. 

The rapid stream of pure water, roaring 
along between banks overhung with aspens 
and willows, was a refreshing and unex- 
pected sight ; and we followed down the 
course of the stream, which brought us soon 
into a marsh, or dry lake, formed by the ex- 
panding waters of the stream. It was cov- 
ered with high reeds and rushes, and large 
patches of ground had been turned up by the 
squaws in digging for roots, as if a farmer 
had been preparing the land for grain. I 
could not succeed in finding the plant for 
which they had been digging. There were 
frequent trails, and fresh tracks of Indians ; 
and, from the abundant signs visible, the . 
black-tailed hare appears to be numerous 
here. It was evident that, in other seasons, 
this place was a shpet of water. Crossing 
tliis mar.sh towards the eastern hi!h, ^.nd 
passing over a bordering plain of heavy 
sands, covered with artemisia, we encamped 
before sundown on the creek, which here 
was very small, having lost its water in the 
marshy grounds. We found here tolerably 
good grass. The wind to-night was high, 
and we had no longer our huge pins fires, 
but were driven to our old resource of small 
dried' willows and artemisia. About twelve 
miles ahead, the valley appear;5 to be closed 
in by a high, dark-looking ridge. 

December 20. — Travelling for a few hours 
down the stream this morning, we turned a 
point of the hill on our left, and came sud- 
denly in sight of another and lauch larger 
lake, which, along ite eaiatern chore, was 



12C 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



closely bordered by the liiph black ridge 
which walled it in by a precipitoas face on 
this side.* Tlirouphont this region the face 
of the country is characterized by these pre- 
cipices of black volcanic rock, generally 
enclosinsr the valleys of streams, and fre- 
quently terminating the hills. Often in the 
coarse of our journey we would be templed 
to continue our road up the gentle ascent of 
a sloping hill, which, at the snmnriit, would 
terminate abruptly in a bhck precipice. 
Spread out over a length of 20 miles, the 
lake, when we first came in view, presented 
a handsome sheet of water ; and I gave to 
it the name of Lake Abert, in honor of the 
chief of the corps to which I belonged. The 
fresh-water stream we had followed emptied 
into the lake by a little fall ; and I was 
doubtful for a moment whether to go on, or 
encamp at tliis place. The miry ground in 
the neighborhood of the hke did not allow 
us to examine the water conveniently, and, 
being now on the borders of a desert coun- 
try, we were moving cautiously. It was, 
however, still early in the dav, and I con- 
tinued on, trusting either tliat the water 
would be drinkable, or that we should find 
some little spring from the hill side. We 
were fidiowing an Indian trail v.hich led 
along the strep r6cky precipice ; a black 
ridge along the western shore holding out 
no prospect whatever. The white efflores- 
cences which lined the shore like a bank of 
snow, and the disagreeable odor which filled 
the air as soon as we came near, informed 
us too plainly that the water belonged to one 
of those fetid salt lakes which are common 
in liiis region. We continued until late in 
the evening to work along the rocky shore, 
but, as often afterwards, the dry inhospita- 
ble rock deceived us ; and, halting on the 
lake, we kindled up fires to guide those who 
we e straggling along behind. We tried 
the water, but it was impossible to drink it, 
and most of the people to-night lay down 
without eating ; but some of us, who had 
always a great reluctance to close the day 
without supper, dug holes along the shore, 
and obtained water, which, being filtered, 
WIS sufficiently palatable to be used, but 
still retained much of its nauseating taste. 
There was verv little crrass for the animals, 
the shore being lined with a luxuriant 
growth of chenopodiaceous shrubs, which 
burned with a quick bright flame, and made 
our firewood. 

The next morning we had scarcely trav- 
elled two hours along the shore when we 
reached a place where the mountains made 
a bay, leaving at their feet a low bottom 
around the lake. Here we found numerous 
hillocks covered with rushes, in the midst 
of wiiich were deep holes, or springs, of 
pure water : and the bottom was covered 



with grass, which, although of a salt and 
unwholesome quality, and mixed with saline 
efflorescences, was still abundant, and made 
a good halting place to recruit our animals ; 
and we accordingly encamped here for the 
remainder of the day. I rode ahead several 
miles to ascertain if there was any appear- 
ance of a watercourse entering the lake ; 
hut found none, the hills preserving their 
dry character, and t!ie shore of the lake 
sprinkled with the same white powdery sub- 
stance, and covered with the same shrubs. 
There were flocks of ducks on the lake, 
and frequent tracks of Indians along the 
shore, where the grass had been recently 
burnt by their fires. 

We ascended the bordering mountain, in 
order to obtain a more perfect view of the 
lake in sketching its figure ; hills sweep en- 
tirely around its basin, from which the wa- 
ters have no outlet. 

Decetnber 22. — To-day we left this for- 
bidding lake. Impassable rocky ridges bar- 
red our progress to the eastward, and I ac- 
cordingly bore off towards the south, over 
an extensive sage plain. At a considerable 
distance ahead, and a little on our left, was 
a range of snowy mountains, and the country 
declined gradually towards the foot of a high 
and nearer ridge immediately before us, 
which presented the feature of black preci- 
pices, now becoming common to the coun- 
try. On the summit of the ridge, snow was 
visible ; and there being every indication of 
a stream at its base, we rode on until after 
dark, but were unable to reach it, and halted 
among the sage bushes on the open plain, 
without either gr:i8S or water. The two 
Indiarubber bags had been filled with water 
in the morning, which afforded sufficient for 
the camp; and rain in the night formed 
pools, which relieved the thirst of the ani- 
mals. Where we encamped on the bleak 
sandy plain, the Indians had made huts or 
circular enclosures, about fJ§r feet high and 
twelve feet broad, of artemisia bushes. 
Whether these had been forts or houses, or 
what they had been doing in such a desert 
place, we could not ascertain. 

December 23. — The weather is mild ; the 
thermompter at daylight 38^ ; the wind hav- 
ing been from the southward for several days. 
The country has a very forbidding appear- 
ance, presenting to the eye nothing but sage 
and barren ridges. We rode up towards 
the mountain, along the foot of which we 
found a lake, which we could not approach 
on account of the mud ; and, passing around 
its southern end, ascended the slope at the 
foot of the ridge, where in some hollows we 
had discovered buslies and small trees — in 
such situations, a sure sign of water. We 
found here several springs, and the hill sida 
was well sprinkled with a species of festu- 



1843.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



127 



CO — a better grass than we had found for 
many days. Our elevated position gave us 
a good view over the country, but we dis- 
covered nothing very encouraging. South- 
ward, about ten miles distant, was another 
small lake, towards which a broad trail led 
along the ridge ; and this appearing to af- 
ford the most practicable route, I determined 
to continue our journey in that direction. 

December 24. — We found the water of 
the lake tolerably pure, and encamped at the 
farther end. There were some good grass 
and canes along the shore, and the vegeta- 
tion at this place consisted principally of 
chenopodiaceous .shrubs. 

December 25. — We wore roused, on 
Christmas morning, by a di-scharge from the 
small arms and howitzer, with which our 
people saluted the day ; and the name of 
which we bestowed on the lake. It was the 
first time, perhaps, in this remote and deso- 
late region, in which it had been so com- 
memorated. Always, on days of religious 
or national commemoration, our voyagcurs 
expect some imusual allowance ; and, hav- 
ing nothing else, I gave them each a little 
brandy, (which was carefully guarded, as 
one of the most useful articles a traveller 
can carry,) with some cofiee and sugar, 
which here, where every eatable was a lux- 
ury, was- sufficient to make them a feast. 
The day was sunny and warm ; and, re- 
suming our journey, we crossed some slight 
dividing grounds into a similar basin, walled 
in on the right by a lofty mountain ridge. 
The plainly beaten trail still continued, and 
occasionally we passed camping grounds of 
the Indians, which indicated to me that we 
were on one of the great thoroughfares of 
the country. In the afternoon I attempted 
to travel in a more eastern direction ; but, 
after a few laborious miles, was beaten 
back into the basin by an impassable coun- 
try. There were fresh Indian tracks about 
the valley, and last night a horse was stolen. 
We encamped on the valley bottom, where 
there wa.s some creamlike water in ponds, 
colored by a clay soil and frozen over. 
Clicuopodiaceous shrubs constituted the 
growth, and made again our firewood. The 
uiiiiaals were driven to the hill, where there 
was tolerably good grass. 

Deceinber 2(5. — Our general course was 
again south. The country consists of 
larger or smaller ba.sins, into which the 
mountain waters run down, forming small 
lakes ; they present a perfect level, from 
which the mountains rise immediately and 
abruptly. Between the successive basins, 
the dividing grounds are usually very .slight ; 
and it is probable that, in the seasons of 
high water, many of these basins are in 
oommunication. At such times there is 
evidently an abundance of water, though 



now we find scawely more than the dry 
beds. On either side, the mountains, 
tho'igh not very high, appear to be rocky 
and sterile. The basin in which we were 
travelling declined towards the southwesS 
corner, where the mountains indicated a 
narrow outlet ; and, turning round a rocky 
point or cape, we continued up a lateral 
branch valley, in which we encamped at 
night on a rapid, pretty little stream of 
fresh water, which we found unexpectedly 
among the sage near the ridge, on the 
right side of the valley. It was bordei-ed 
with grassy bottoms and clumps of willows, 
the water ])artially frozen. This stream 
belongs to the basin we had left. By a 
partial observation to-night, our camp was 
found to be directly on the 42d parallel. 
To-night a horse belonging to Carson, one 
of the best we had in the camp, was stolen 
by the Indians. 

December 27. — We continued up the 
valley of the stream, the principal branch 
of which here issues from a bed of high 
mountains. We turned up a branch to the 
left, and fell into an Indian trail, which 
conducted us by a good road over open 
boUoms along the creek, where tjie snow 
was five or six inches deep. Gradually 
ascending, the trail led through a good 
broad pass in the mountain, where we found 
the snow about one foot deep. There were 
some remarkably large cedars in the pass, 
which were covered with an unusual quan- 
tity of frost, which we supposed might pos- 
sibly indicate the neighborhood of water ; 
and as, in the arbitrary position of Mary's 
lake, we were already beginning to look 
for it, this circumstance contributed to our 
hope of finding it near. Descending from 
the mountain, we reached another basin, on 
the fiat lake bed of which we found no 
water, and encamped among the sage on 
the bordering plain, where the snow was 
still about one foot deep. Among this the 
grass was remarkably green, and to-night 
the animals fared tolerably well. 

December 28. — The snow being deep, I 
had delermiued, if any more lioises; were 
stolen, to follow the tracks of the Indians 
into the mountains, and put a t'in:)porary 
check to their sly operations ; but it did 
not occur again. 

Our road this morning lay down a level 
valley, bo};dered'by steep mountainous 
ridges, rising very abruptly ficm tlie plain. 
Artemisia was the principal plant, mingled 
with Fremonlia and the chenopodiaceous 
shrubs. The artemisia was here extremely 
large, being sometimes a foot in diameter 
and eight feet high. Gliding quietly along 
over the snow, we came suddenly upon 
smokes rising among these bushes; and, 
galloping up, we found two huts, open at 



128 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1843. 



the top, and loosely H\jilt of sage, which 
appeared to have been deserted at the 
iVistant ; and, looking hastily around, we 
saw several Indians on the crest of the 
ridge near by, and Reveral others scramb- 
ling up the side. We had come upon them 
so suddenly, that they had been well-nigh 
surprised in their lodges. A sage fire was 
burning in the middle ; a few baskets made 
of straw were Iving about, with one or two 
rabbit skins ; and liiere was a little grass 
scattered about, on which they had been 
lying. '' Tabibo — ^bo!" they shouted fioin 
the hills — a word which, ia the Snake 
language, signifies white — and Temained 
looking at us from behind the rocks. Car- 
son and Godey rode towards the hill, but 
the men ran off like deer. They had been 
so much pressed, that a woman with two 
children had dropped behind a sage bush 
near the lodge, and when Carson accident- 
ally stumbled upon her, she immediatgly 
began screaming in the extremity of fear, 
and shut her eyes fast, to avoid seeing 
him. She was brought back to the lodge, 
and we endeavored in vain to open a com- 
munication with the men. By dint of 
presents, and friendly demonstrations, she 
v/as brought to calmness ; and we found 
that they belonged to the Snake nation, 
speaking the language of that people. 
Eight or ten appeared to live together, 
under the same little shelter ; and they 
seemed to have no other subsistence than 
the roots or seeds they might have stored 
up, and the hares which live in the sage, 
and which they are enabled to track through 
the snow, and are very skilful in killing. 
Their skins afford them a little scanty cov- 
ering. Herding together among bushes, 
and crouching almost naked over a little 
sage fire, using their instinct only to pro- 
cure food, these may be considered, among 
human beings, the nearest approach to the 
mere animal creation. We have reason to 
believe that these had never before seen 
the face of a white man. 

The day had been pleasant, but about 
two o'clock it began to blow ; and crossing 
a flight dividing ground we encamped on 
the sheltered side of a hill, where there 
w;is good bunch grass, having made a 
day's journry of 21 miles. The night 
closed in, threatening snow ; but the large 
sage bushes made bright fires.' 

December 29. — The morning mild, and 
at 4 o'clock it commenced snowing. We 
took our way across a plain, thickly cover- 
ed with snow, towards a range of hills in 
the southeast. The sky soon became so 
dark with snow, that little could be seen of 
the surrounding country ; and we reached 
the summit of the hills in a heavy snow 
storm. On the sido wo had approached, 



this had appeared to be only a ridge of low 
hills ; and we were surprised to find our- 
selves on the summit of a bed of broken 
mountains, which, as far as the weather 
would permit us to see, declined rapidly to 
some low country ahead, presenting a 
dreary and savage character; and for a 
moment I loL-kad around in doubt on the 
wild and inliospitable prospect, scarcely 
knowing what road to take which might 
conduct us to some place of shelter for the 
night. Noticing among the liilis the head 
of a grassy hollow, 1 determined to follow 
it, in the hope that it would conduct us to a 
stream. We followed a winding descent 
for several miles, the hollow gradually 
broadening into little meadows, and be- 
coming the bed of a stream as we ad- 
vanced ; and towards night we were agree- 
ably surprised by the appearance of a wil- 
low grove, where we found a sheltered 
camp, with water and excellent and abun- 
dant grass. The grass, which was covered 
by the snow on the bottom, was long and 
green, and the face of the mountain had a 
more favorable character in its vegetation, 
being smoother, and covered with good 
bunch grass. The snow was deep, and the 
night very cold. A broad trail had entered 
the valley from the right, and a short dis- 
tance below the camp weie the tracks 
where a considerable party of Indians had 
passed on horseback, who had turned out 
to the left, apparently with the view of 
crossing the mountains to the eastward. 

Decanbcr 30. — After following the stream 
for a few hours in a southcaslojly direc- 
tion, it entered a canon where we could not 
follow; but determined not to leave tho 
stream, we searched a passage below, v.here 
we could regain it, and entered a regular 
narrow valley. The water had now more 
the appearance of a flowing creek ; several 
timea we passed groves of willows, and we 
began to feel ourselves out of ail diiliculty. 
From our position, it was reasonable to con- 
clude tluit this stream would find its outlet 
in Mary's lake, and conduct us into a belter 
country. We had descended rapidly, and 
here we found very little snow. On both 
sides, the mountains showed often stupen- 
dous and curious-looking rocks, which at 
several places so nariOv\ed tho valley, that 
scarcely a pass was left for the camp. It 
was a singular place to travel t'uough — shut 
up in the earth, a sort of chasm, the little 
atrip of grass under our feet, the rough 
walls of bare rock on cither hand, and tho 
narrow strip of sky above. The grass to- 
night was abundant, and we encamped ia 
high spirits. 

December 31. — After an hour'T ride this 
morning, our iiopes were onue more de- 
.stroyed. The valley opened out, and before 



1844.1 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



129 



us again lay one of the dry basins. After 
some search, we discovered a high-water 
outlet, which brought us in a few miles, and 
by a descent of several hundred feet, into 
another long broad basin, in which we found 
the bed of a stream, and obtained sufficient 
water by cutting the ice. The grass on the 
bottoms was salt and unpalatable. 

Here we concluded the year 18-13, and 
our new year's eve was rather a gloomy 
one. The result of our journey began to be 
very uncertain ; the country was singularly 
unfavorable to travel ; the grasses being 
frequently of a very unwholesome charac- 
ter, and the hoofs of our animals were so 
worn and cut by the rocks, that many of 
them were lame, and could scarcely be got 
along. 

Neiv Yea7-\^ day, 1841. — We continued 
■down the valley, between a dry-looking 
black ridge on the left and a more snowy 
and high one on the right. Our road was 
bad along the bottom, being broken by gul- 
lies and impeded by sage, and sandy on the 
hills, where there is not a blade of grass, 
nor does any appear on the mountains. The 
soil in many places consists of a fine pow- 
■dery sand, covered with a saline efflores- 
cence ; and the general character of the 
country is desert. During the day we di- 
rected our course towards a black cape, at 
the foot of which a column of smoke indi- 
cated hot springs. 

January 2. — We were on the road early, 
and the face of the country hidden by fall- 
ing snow. We travelled along the bed of 
the stream, in some places dry, in others 
covered with ice ; the travelling being very 
bad, through deep fine sand, rendered tena- 
cious by a mixture of clay. The weather 
cleared up a little at noon, and we reached 
the hot springs of which we had seen the 
vapor the day before. There was a large 
field of the usual salt grass here, peculiar to 
such places. The country otherwise is a 
perfect barren, without a blade of grass, the 
only plants being some dwarf Fremontias. 
We passed the rocky cape, a jagged broken 
point, bare and torn. The rocks are vol- 
canic, and the hills here have a burnt ap- 
pearance — cinders and coal occasionally ap- 
pearing as at a blacksmith's forge. We 
crossed the large dry bed of a muddy lake in 
:a southeasterly direction, and encamped at 
■night without water and without grass, 
among sage bushes covered with snow. 
The heavy road made several mules give 
out to-day ; and a horse, which had made 
the journey from the States successfully 
thus far, was left on the trail. 

January 3. — A fog, so dense that we could 
not see a hundred yards, covered the coun- 
try, and the mea that were sent out after 
ihe horses were bewildered and lost ; and 
9 



we were consequently detained at camp im- 
til late in the day. Our situation had now 
become a serious one. We had reached 
and run over the position where, according 
to the best maps in my possession, we should 
have found Mary's lake or river. We 
were evidently on the verge of the desert 
wliich had been reported to us ; and the ap- 
pearance of the country was so forbidding, 
that I was afraid to enter it, and determined 
to bear away to the southward, keeping 
close along the mountains, in the full expec- 
tation of reaching the Buenaventura river. 
This morning 1 put every man in the camj) 
on foot — myself, of course, among the rest 
— and in this manner lightened by distribu- 
tion the loads of the animals. We travelled 
seven or eight miles along the ridge border- 
ing the valley, and encamped where there 
were a few bunches of grass on the bed of 
a hill torrent, without water. There were 
some large artemisias ; but the principal 
plants are chenopodiaceous shrubs. The 
rock composing the mountains is here 
changed suddenly into white granite. Tha 
fog showed the tops of the hills at sunset, 
and stars enough for observations in the 
early evening, and then closed over us as be- 
fore. Latitude by observation, 40^ 48' 15". 

January 4. — The fog to-day was still 
more dense, and the people again w-ere be- 
wildered. We travelle<la few miles around 
the weolern point of the ridg^, and encamp- 
ed where there were a few tufts of grass, 
but no water. Our animals now were in a 
very alarming state, and there was increas- 
ed anxiety in the camp. 

January 5. — Same dense fog continued, 
and one of the mules died in camp this 
morning. I have had occasion to remark, 
on such occasions as these, that animals 
which are about to die leave the band, and, 
coming into the carnp, lie dowrf about the 
fires. We moved to a place where there 
was a little better grass, about two miles 
distant. Taplin, one of our best men, who 
had gone out on a scouting excursion, as- 
cended a mountain near by, and to his great 
surprise em.erged into a region of bright 
sunshine, in which the upper parts of the- 
mountain were glowing, while below all v.as 
obscured in the darkest fog. 

January 6. — The fog continued the same, 
and, with Mr. Preuss and Carson, 1 as- 
cended the mountain, to sketch the leading 
features of the country, as some indication 
of our future route, while Mr. Fitzpatrick 
explored the country below. In a very 
short distance we had ascended above the 
mist, but the view obtained was not very 
gratifying. The fog had partially cleared 
off from below when we reached the sum- 
mit ; and in the southwest corner of a ba- 
sin communicating with that in which we 



130 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1844-. 



haJ encamped, we saw a lofty column of 
smoke, IC miles distant, indicating the pre- 
sence of hot springes. There, also, appeared 
to bo the outlet of those draining channels 
of the country ; and, as such places afford- 
ed always more or less grass, I determined 
to steer in that direction. The ridge we 
had aacended appeared to be composed of 
fragments of white granite. We saw here 
traces of sheep and antelope. 

Entering the neighboring valley, and 
crossing the bed of another lake, after a hard 
day's travel over ground of yielding mud 
and sand, we reached the springs, where 
we found an abundance of gras.s, which, 
though only tolerably good, made this place, 
with reference to the past, a refresliing and 
agreeable spot. 

This is the most extraordinary locality of 
hot springs we had met during the journey. 
The basin of the largest one has a circum- 
ference of several hundred feet ; but there 
is at one extremity a circular space of about 
fifteen feet in diameter, entirely occupied 
by the boiling water. It boils up at irregu- 
lar intervals, and with much noiaa. The 
water is clear, and the spring deep ; a pole 
about sixteen feet long was easily immersed 
in the centre, but we had no means of form- 
ing a good idea of the depth. It was sur- 
rounded on the margin with a border of 
green grass, and near the sliore the temper- 
ature of the water was 205°. We had no 
means of ascertaining that of the centre, 
"where the heat was greatest ; but, by dis- 
persing the water with a pole, the tempera- 
ture at the margin was increased to 208°, 
and in the centre it was doubtless higher. 
By driving the pole towards the bottom, the 
water was made to boil up with increasea 
force and noise. There are several other 
interesting places, where water and smoke 
or gas escape, but they would require a 
long description. The water is impregna- 
ted with common salt, but not so much as 
to render it unfit for general cooking ; and 
a mixture of snow made it plcacant to 
drink. 

In the immediate neighborhood, the val- 
ley bottom is covered almost exclusively 
with chenopodiaceous shrubs, of greater 
luxuriance, and larger growth, than we have 
seen them in any preceding part of the 
journey. 

I obtained this evening some astronomi- 
cal observations. 

Our situation now required caution. In- 
cluding those which gave out from the in- 
jured condition of their feet, and those sto- 
len by Indians, we had lost, since leaving 
the Dalles of the Columbia, filtecn animals ; 
and of these, nine had been left in the last 
few days. I therefore determined, until 
we should reach a country of water and veg- 



etation, to feel our way ahead, by having 
the line of route explored some hfteen oi 
twenty miles in advance, and only to leave 
a present encampment when the succeedino 
one was known. 

Taking with me Godey and Carson, I 
made to-day a thorough exploration of the 
neighboring valleys, and found in a ravine 
in the bordering mountains a good camp- 
ing place, where was water in springs, and 
a sufficient quantity of grass for a night. 
Overshadowing the springs were some 
trees of the sweet cotton-wood, which, after 
a long interval of absence, we saw again 
with plcasuro, regarding them as harbingers 
of a better country. To us. they were elo- 
quent of green prairies and buffalo. We 
.'"ound here a broad and plainly marked trail, 
on which there were tracks of horses, and 
we appeared to have regained one of the 
thoroughfares which pass by the watering 
places of the country. On the western 
mountains of the valley, with which this of 
the boiling spring communicates, we re- 
marked scattered cedars — probably an indi- 
cation that we were on the borders of the 
timbered region extending to the Pacific. 
We reached the camp at sunset, after a 
day's ride of about forty miles. The horses 
we rode were in good order, being of some 
that were kept for emergencies, and rarely 
used. 

Mr. Preuss had ascended one of the 
mountains, and occupied the day in sketch- 
ing the country ; and Mr. Fitzpatrick had 
found, a kv/ miles distant, a hojlow of ex- 
cellent grass and pure water, to which the 
animals were driven, as I remained another 
day to give them an opportunity to recruit 
their strength. Indians appear to be every- 
where prowling about like wild animals, and 
there is a fresh trail across the snow in the 
valley near. 

Latitude of the boiling springs, 40^ 39' 4C". 

On the 9th we crossed over to the cotton- 
wood camp. Among the shrubs on the hills 
were a few bushes of ephedra occidentalis, 
which afterwards occurred fr(H]ucntly along 
our road, and, as usual, the lowlands were 
occupied with artcmisia. While the party 
proceeded to this place, Carson and my.se!f 
reconnoitred the road in advance, and found 
another good encampment for the following 
day. 

January 10. — We continued our recon- 
noissance ahead, pursuing a south direction 
in the basin along the ridge ; the camp fol- 
lowing slowly after. On a large trail there 
is never any doubt of finding suitable places 
for encampments. We reached the end of 
the basin, where we found, in a hollow of 
the mountain which enclosed it, an abun- 
dance of good bunch grass. Leaving a sig- 
nal for the party to encamp, we continued 



1844.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



159 



intermingled — sach was our composition. 
Our march was r. sort of procession. Scouts 
ahead, and on tae flanks ; a front and rear 
division ; the piwic animals, baggage, and 

I horned cattle, in the centre ; and tlie whole 
stretciiing a quarter of a mile along our 

' dreary path. In this form we journeyed ; 
lookiii"' more as if we belonged to Asia than 
to the United States of America. 

We continued in a southerly direction 
across tlie plain, to which, as well as to all 
tl'.e country, so far as we could see, the yuc- 

I ca trees gave a strange and singular cha- 
racter. Several new plants appeared, among 
whicii was a zygophyllaccous shrub (zijgo- 
■phyllum Californicum, Terr, and Frem.), 
sometimes ten feet in height; in form, and 
in the pliancy of its branches, it is rather a 
graceful plant. Its leaves are small, cover- 
ed with a resinous substance ; and, particu- 
larly when bruised and crushed, exhale a 
singular but very agreeable and refreshing 
odo°. This shrub and the yucca, with many 
varieties of cactus, make the characteristic 
features in the vegetation for a long distance 
to the eastward. Along the foot of the 
mountain, tv/enty miles to the southward, 
red stripes of flowers were visible during the 
morning, which we supposed to be varie- 
gated sandstones. We rode rapidly during 
the day, and in the afternoon emerged from 
the yucca forest at the foot of an outlier of 
the Sierra before us, and came among the 
fields of flowers we had seen in the morn- 
ing, which consisted principally of the rich 
orange-colored Californian poppy, mingled 
with other flowers of brighter tints. Reach- 
ing the top of the spur, which was covered 
with fine bunch grass, and where the hills 
were very green, our guide pointed to a 
small hollow in the mountain before us, say- 
ing, " d esle piedra hay agua." He appear- 
ed to know every nook in the country. We 
continued our beautiful road, and reached a 
spring in the slope, at the foot of the ridge, 
runnnig in a green ravine, among granite 
boulders ; here night-shade, and borders of 
buckwheat, with their white blossoms around 
the granite rocks, attracted our notice as fa- 
miliar plants. Several antelopes were seen 
among the hills, and some large hares. Men 
were sent back this evening in search of a 
wild mule with a valuable pack, which had 
managed (as they frequently do) to hide 
itself along the road. 

By observation, the latitude of the camp 
is 34° 41' 42"; and longitude 118° 26' OO". 
Ths next day the men returned with the 
mule. 

April 17. — Crossing the ridge by a beau- 
tiful pass of hollows, where several deer 
broke out of the thickets, we emerged at a 
small salt lake in a vallon lying nearly east 
and west, where a trail from the mission of 



San Buenaventura comes in. The lake is 
about 1,200 yards in diameter ; surrounded 
on the margin by a wliite salty border, 
which, by the smell, reminded us slightly of 
Lake Aijcrt. There are some cottonwoods, 
with willow and elder, around the lake ; and 
the water is a little salt, although not en- 
tirely unfit for drinking. Here .we turned 
directly to the eastvi'ard, along the trail, 
which, from being seldom used, is almost 
imperceptible ; and, after travelling a few 
miles, our guide halted, and, pointing to the 
hardly visible trail, " aqui es camino" said 
he, " no ^e pisrde — ca siemjrre.'^ He point- 
ed out a black huUe on the plain at the foot 
of the mountain, where we would find water 
to encamp at night; and, giving him a pre- 
sent of knives and scarlet cloth, we shook 
hands and parted. Ke bore olF south, and in 
a day's ride would ari-ive at San P^ernando, 
one of several missions in this part of Cali- 
fornia, where the country is so beautiful that 
it is considered a paradise, and the name of 
its princi[)al town {Puebla de los Angeles) 
would make it angeiic. We continued on 
through a succession of valleys, 'and came 
into a most beautiful spot of flower fields : 
instead of green, the hills were purple and 
orange, with unbroken beds, into which 
each color was separately gathered. A pale 
straw color, with a bright yellow the rich 
red orange of the poppy mingled witii fields 
of purple, covered the spot with a floral 
beauty ; and, on the border of the sandy de- 
serts, seemed to invite the traveller to go no 
farther. Riding along through the perfumed 
air, we soon after entered a defile over- 
grown with the ominous artemisia iriden- 
lata, which conducted us into a sandy plain 
covered more or less densely with forests of 
yucca. 

Having now the snowy ridge on our right, 
we continued our way towards a dark buUe, 
belonging to a low sierra in tlie plain, and 
which our guide had pointed out lor a land- 
mark. Late in the day, the familiar growth 
of Cottonwood, a line of which was visible 
ahead, indicated our approach to a creek, 
which we reached where t'ne water spread 
out into sands, and a little below sank en- 
tirely. Here our guide had intended we 
should pass the night ; but there was not a 
blade of grass, and, hoping to find nearer the-, 
mountain a little for the night, we turned up 
the stream. A hundred yards above, we 
found the creek a fine stream, sixteen feet 
wide, with a swift current. A dark night 
overtook us when we reached the hills at 
the foot of the ridge, and we were obliged 
to encamp without grass ; tying up what 
animals we could secure in the darkness, 
the greater part of the wild ones having free 
range for the night. Here the stream was 
two feet deep, swift and clear, issuing from 



160 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE, 



[1844. 



a neighboring snow peak. A few miles he- 
fore reaching this creek, we had crossed a 
broad dry river bed, which, nearer tlie hills, 
the hunters had found a hold and handsome 
stream. 

April 18. — Some parties were engaged in 
hunting up the scattered horses, and others 
in searching for grass above ; both were 
successful, and late in the day we encamped 
among some spring heads of the river, in a 
hrfllow which was covered with only tolera- 
bly good grasses, the lower ground being en- 
tirel}' overgrown with large bunches of the 
coarse stiff' grass (carex slichensis). « 

Our latitude, by observation, was 31° 27' 
03"; and longitude 117° 13' 00". 

Travelling close along the mountain, we 
followed up, in tiie afternoon of the 19th, 
another stream, in hopes to find a grass- 
patch like that of the previous day, but were 
deceived ; e.xcept some scattered bunch 
grass, there was nothing br.t rock and sand ; 
and even the fertility of the mountain seem- 
ed withered by the air of the desert. Among 
the few trees was the nut pine (pmus mono- 
jihyllus). 

Our road the next day was still in an 
easterly direction along the ridge, over very 
bad travelling ground, broken and confound- 
ed with crippled trees and shrubs ; and, 
•.5^gr a difficult march of eighteen miles, a 
_^;jncral shout announced that we had struck 
■ '' 5 great object of our seach — the Spanish 
....'L — 'Which here was running directly 
north. The road itself, and its course, were 
equally happy discoveries to us. Since the 
middle of December we had continually been 
forced south by mountains and by deserts, 
and now would ^have to make si.x degrees 
oVnorihing, An the latitude on which 

we wisi. d;U[. •> s the Rocky mountains. 
The course ol th^ d '.herefore, was what 
we wanted ; and, ui. ; more, we felt like 
going homewards. A ro^.J to travel on, and 
the right course to go, were -ful consola- 
tions to ns ; and our animals njoyed the 
beaten track like ourselves. Relieved from 
the rocks and brush, our wild mules suirtcd 
off at a rapid rate, and in fifteen miles we 
reached a considerable river, timbered with 
Cottonwood and willow, where we found a 
bottom of tolerable grass. As the animals 
had suffered a great deal in the last few days, 
I remained here all next day, to allow them 
the necessary repose ; and it was now ne- 
cessary, at every favorable place, to make a 
little halt. Between us and the Colorado 
river we were aware that the country was ex- 
tremely poor in grass, and scarce for water, 
there being many jornadas (day's journey), 
or long stretches of forty to sixty miles, with- 
out water, where the road was marked by 
bones of animals. 

Although hi California we had met with 



people who had passed over tliis trail, we had 
been able to obtain no correct information 
about it ; and the greater part of what we 
had heard was found to be only a tissue of 
falsehoods. The rivers that we found on it 
were never mentioned, and others, particular- 
ly described in name and locality, were sub- 
sequently seen in anotlier part of the coun- 
try. It was described as a tolerably good 
sandy road, with so little rock as scarcely to 
require the animals to be shod ; and we found 
it the rougliest and rockiest road we had ever 
seen in tiie countrj-, and which nearly de- 
stroyed our band of rine mules and horses. 
Many animals are destroyed on it every year 
by a disease called the foot evil ; and a' tra- 
veller should never venture on it without, 
having his animals well shod, and also carry- 
ing extra shoes. 

Latitude 3 1^" 34' 11"; and longitude IH'^ 
13' 00". 

The morning of the 2'2d was clear and 
bright, and a snowy peak to the southward 
shone out high and sharply defined. As has 
been usual since we crossed the mountains 
and descended into the hot plains, we had a 
gale of wind. We travelled down the right 
bank of the stream, over sands which are 
somewhat loose, and have no verdure, but 
are occupied by various shrubs. A clear 
bold stream, 60 feet wide, and several feet 
deep, had a strange appearance, running be- 
tween perfectly naked banks of sand. The 
eye, however, is somewhat relieved by wil- 
lows, and the beautiful green of the su-eet 
cottonwoods with which it is well wooded. 
As we followed along its course, the river, 
instead of growing constantly larger, gradu- 
ally dwindled away, as it was absorbed by 
the sand. We were now careful to take the 
old camping places of the annual Santa F« 
caravans, which, luckily for ns, had not yet 
made their yearly passage. A drove of se- 
veral thousand horses and mules would en- 
tirely have swept away the scanty grass at 
the watering places, and we should have 
been obliged to leave the road to obtain sub- 
sistence for our animals. After riding 20 
miles in a northeasterly direction, we found 
an old encampment, where we halted. 

By observation, the elevation of this en- 
campment is 2,250 feet. 

April 23. — The trail followed still along 
the river, which, in the course of the morn- 
ing, entirely disappeared. We continued 
along the dry bed, in which, after an interval 
of about 16 miies, the water reappeared in 
some low places, well timbered with cotton- 
wood and willow, where was another of the 
customary camping grounds. Here a party 
of six Indians came into camp, poor and hun- 
gry, and quite in keeping with the character 
of the oountry. Their arms were bows of 
unusual length, and each had a large gourd, 



1844..] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



161 



fitrengthened with meshes of cord, in which 
lie carried water. They proved to be the 
Mohahve Indians mentioned by our recent 
guide ; and from one of them who spoke 
Spanish fluently, I obtained some interesting 
information, which I would be glad to intro- 
duce here. An account of the people inha- 
biting this region would undoubtedly possess 
interest for the civilized world. Our journey 
homeward was fruitful in incident ; and the 
country through which we travelled, although 
a desert, afforded much to excite the curiosi- 
ty of the botanist; but limited time, and tlie 
rapidly advancing season for active opera- 
tions, oblige me to omit all extended descrip- 
tions, and hurry briefly to the conclusion of 
this report. 

The Indian who spoke Spanish had been 
educated (or a number of years at one of the 
Spanish missions, and, at the breaking up of 
those establishments, had returned to the 
mountains, where he had been found by a 
party of Mohahce (sometimes called Ajnu- 
chaba) Indians, among whom he had ever 
since resided. 

He spoke of the leader of the present par- 
ty as " mi amo " (my master). He said they 
lived upon a large river in the southeast, 
which the " soldiers called the Rio Colora- 
do ;" but that, formerly, a portion of them 
lived upon this river, and among the moun- 
tains which had bounded the river valley to 
the northward during the day, and that here 
along the river they had raised various kinds 
of melons. They sometimes came over to 
trade with the Indians of the Sierra, bringing 
with them blankets and goods manufactured 
by the Monquis and other Colorado Indians. 
They rarely carried home horses, on account 
of the difficulty of getting them across the 
desert, and of guarding them afterwards 
from the Pa-utah Indians, who inhabit the 
Sierra, at the head of the Rio Virgen (river 
of the Virgin.) 

He informed us that, a short distance be- 
low, this river finally disappeared. The two 
•different portions in which water is found had 
received from the priests two different names ; 
and subsequently I heard it called by the 
Spaniards the Rio ds las Aiiima>>, but on the 
map we have called it the Mohahve river. 

April 24. — We continued down the stream 
'(or rather its bed) for about eight miles, 
where there was water still in several holes, 
and encamped. The caravans sometimes 
■continue below, to the end of the river, from 
which there is a very long Jornada of per- 
haps si.\ty miles, without 'water. Here a 
singular and new species of acacia, with spi- 
ral pods or seed vessels, made its first appear- 
ance ; becoming henceforward, for a consi- 
derable distance, a characteristic tree. It 
was here comparatively large, being about 
20 feet in height, with a full and spreading 

U 



top, the lower branches declining towards 
the ground. It afterwards occurred of smaller 
size, frequently in- groves, and is very fra- 
grant. It has been called by Dr. Torrey 
spirolobium odoratum. The zygophyllaceous 
shrub had been constantly characteristic of 
the plains along the river ; and here, among 
many new plants, a new and very remarka- 
ble species of eriogonum {eriogonum infla- 
liim, Torr. & Frem.) made its first appear- 
ance. 

Our cattle had become so tired and poor 
by this fatiguing travelling, that three of 
them were killed here, and the meat dried. 
The Indians had now an occasion for a great 
feast, and were occupied the remainder of 
the day and all the night in cooking and eat- 
ing. There was no part of the animal for 
which they did not find some use, except the 
bones. In the afternoon we were surprised 
by the sudden appearance in the camp of two 
Mexicans — a man and a boy. The name of 
the man was Andreas Fuenles; and that of 
the boy (a handsome lad, 11 years old), Pa- 
blo Hernandez. They belonged to a party 
consisting of six persons, the remaining four 
being the wife of Fuentes, and the father 
and mother of Pablo, and Santiago Giacome, 
a resident of New Mexico. With a caval- 
cade of about thirty horses, they had come 
out from Puebla de los Angeles, near the 
coast, under the guidance of Giacor-i-s^ in 
advance of the great caravan, in on ji to 
travel more at leisure, and obtain better 
Having advanced as far into the &afc. c* 
was considered consistent with Lieir safety, 
they halted at the Archilelle, one of the cus- 
tomary camping grounds, about 80 miles 
from our encampment, where there is a spring 
of good water, with ''uf?i^'''nt grass ; and 
concluded to await tft--' i arrival of the 
great Caravan. Sev*"-^!' .^ .laijs were soon 
discovered lurkfi.-;?' '.dut the camp, who, in 
a day or two aftt-;came in, and, after behav- 
inor in a v'' V' friendly manner, took their 
leave, w";' .iJut awakening any suspicions. 
Their ■ :.eportment begat a security which 
proved fatal. In a few days afterwards, sud- 
denly a party of about one hundred Indians 
appeared in sight, advancing towards the 
camp. It was too late, or they seemed not 
to have presence of mind to take proper 
measures of safety ; and the Indians chargea 
down into their camp, shouting as they ad- 
vanced, and discharging flights of arrows. 
Pablo and Fuentes were on horse guard at 
the time, and mounted according to the 
custom of the country. One of the princi- 
pal objects of the Indians was to get posses- 
sion of the horses, and part of them imme- 
diately surrounded the band ; but, in obe/ii- 
ence to the shouts of Giacome, Fuentes, 'irove 
the animals over and through the assailants, 
in apite of t,heir arrows ; and, abokadoning the 



# 



163 



CAPT. FREilONT'S NARRATIVB. 



[1844. 



t 



rest to their fate, carriod them off at ppeed j 
across the plain. Knowing that ihey would 1 
be pursued by the Indians, without making 
any halt except to shift their saddles to ether 
horses, they drove them on for about sixty 
miles, and this morning left them at a water- 
ing place on the trail, called Agua de To- 
maso. Without giving themselves anytime 
for rest, they hurried on, hoping to meet the 
Spanish Caravan, when they discovered my 
camp. I received them kindly, taking them 
into my own mess, and promised them such 
aid as circumstances might put it in my 
power to give. 

April 26. — Wo left the river abruptly, and, 
tuniing to the north, regained in a few miles 
the main trail (which had left the river sooner 
than ourselves), and continued our way 
across a lower ridge of the mountain, throuoh 
a raieerable tract of sand and gravel. We 
crossed at intervals the broad beds of dry 
gullies, where in the s<>ason of rains and 
melting snows there would be brooks or rivu- 
lets ; and at one of these, where there was 
no indication of water, were several fresiiiy- 
dug holes, in which there v/as water at the 
depth of two feet. Tlicse holes had been 
du^ by the wolves, whose keen sense of smell 
had scented tlie water under the dry f-.and 
They were nice little wells, narrow, and dug 
straight down, and we got pleasant water 
out of them. 

The country had now assumed the cha- 
racter of an elevated a.nd mountainous de- 
sert; its general features being black, rocky 
ridges, bald, and destitute of timber, with 
sandy basins between. Where the sides of 
these ridges are washed by gullies, the plains 
below are strewed with beds of large pebbles 
or rolled stones, destructive to our soft-footto 
animals, accustomed to the grassy plains 
of the Sacramento valley. Through these 
sandy basins sometimes struggled a scanty 
stream, or occurred a liole of water, which 
furnished camping grounds for travellers. 
Frequently in our journey across, snow was 
visible on the surrounding mountains ; but 
their waters rarely reached tlic sandy plain 
Ixjlow, where we toiled along, opprossLd with 
thirst and a burning sun. But, throughout 
this nakedness of sand and gravel, were many 
beautiful plants and flowering shrubs, winch 
occurred in many new species, and with 
greater variety than we had been accustom- 
ed to see in the most luxuriant prairie coun- 
tries; this was a peculiarity of this desert. 
Even where no grass would take root, the 
naked sand would bloom witli some rich and 
rare flower, which found its appropriate home 
jn the arid and barren spot. 

Scattered over the plain, and tolerably 
abundant, was a handsome leguminous shrub, 
three or four feet high, with fl;)c bright-pur- 
4e floveri. It is a new pwi/ij^a, and oc- 



cnrred frequently henceforward along our 
road. 

Beyond the first ridge, onr road bore a lit- 
tle to the east of north, towards a gap in a 
higher line of mountains ; and, after travel- 
ling about twenty-five miles, wo arrived aC 
the Agua de Tomaso — the spring where the 
horses had been left; but, aa we ex[)ected, 
they were gone. A brief exar.iiiiation of Uto 
ground ccnvinc^ed us that they had been 
driven off by the Indians. Carson and 
Gcdey volunteered with the Mexican to p- 
sue them ; and, well mounted, the three i ?t 
ofi' on the trail. At this stopping place the j 
were a few bushes and very little grass, h \ 
water was a pool ; but near by was a spring, 
which had been dug out by Indians or trav- 
ellers. Its water was cool — a great refresh- 
ment to us under a burning sun. 

In llie evening Fuentes returncil, his horse 
having failed; but Carson and GoJey had 
continued the pursuit. 

I observed to-night an occultation of a"* 
Cancri, at the dark limb of the moon, wl>ich 
gives for the longitude of the place llG^ 23* 
28"; the latitude, by •observation, is 35° 13* 
08". From Helvetia to this place, the posi- 
tions along the ir.lervening line are laid down 
with the longitudes obtained frcm the chro- 
nometer, which appears to have rctaine<I ita 
rate remarkably v.'ell ; but henceforward, to 
the end of the journey, the few longilvvdcs 
given are absolute, dep>ending upon a subse- 
quent occultation and eclipses of tlie satel- 
lites. 

In the afternoon of the next day, a war- 
whoop was heard, such as Indians make 
when returning from a victorious enterprise ; 
and soon Carson and GixJey appeared, driv- 
ing before them a band of horses, recognized 
by Fuentes to be part of those they had loeL 
Two bloody scalps, dangling from the end of 
Godey's gun, announced that tliey had over- 
taken the Indians aa well as the horr^.s. 
Tliey informed us, that after Fuentes left 
them, from the failure of his hcr?e, ihey con- 
tinued the pursuit alone, and towards night- 
tall entered the mountains, into which the 
trail led. After sunset tiio moon gave light, 
and (hey followed tlie trail by moonshine 
until lato in the nigiit, when il enteral a nar- 
row defile, and was difficult to follow. Afraid 
of losing it in tlie darkness of the dc'ilo, tlicy 
tied up their horses, struck no fire, and lay 
down to sleep in silence and in darkness. 
Here they lay from midnight till morning. 
At daylight they resumed the pursuit, and 
alxDut sunrise discovered the horses ; and, 
l.nmodiately dismounting and tying up their 
own, they crept cautiously to a rising ground 
which intervened, from the crest of which 
they perceived the encampment of four lodges 
close by. They pix^ceeded quietly, and had 
got within thirty or forty yards of their ob- 



184^1.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



i©ct, when a movement among the horses 
discovered them to the Indians ; giving tlie 
war shout, they instantly charged into tlie 
oamp, regardless of the numbfer which the 
four lodges would imply. The Indians re- 
ceived them witJ^i a flight of arrows shot 
from their long bows, one of which passed 
through Godey's shirt collar, barely missino- 
the neck ; our men fired their rifles upfm a 
eteady aim, and rushed in. Two Indians 
were stretched on the ground, fatally pitrced 
with bullets ; the rest fled, e.\ce]pt a Jad that 
traa captured. The scalps of the fallen 
were instantly stripped ofT; but in the pro- 
Koss, one of them, who had two balls tlirourjh 
Lis body, Kprunjr to his feet, tiie blood stream- 
inn; froni his skinned head, and uttering a 
hideous iiovvl. An old squaw, possibly his 
mother, stopped and looked back from the 
mountain side she was climbing, threatening 
and lamenting. The frightful spectacle ap" 
palled the stout hearts of our men ; but they 
did what humanity required, and quickly ter- 
minated the agonies of the gory savage. 
They were now masters of the camp, which 
was a pretty little recess in the mountain, 
with a fine spring, and apparently safe from 
all invasion. Great preparations had been 
made to feast a large party, for it was a very 
proper place for a rendezvous, and for the 
celebration of such orgies as robbers of the 
desert would delight in. Several of the best 
horses had been killed, skinned, and cut up ; 
for the Indians living in mountains, and only 
I coming into the plains to rob and murder, 
j make no other use of horses than to eat them. 
Large earthen vessels were on the fire, boiling 
and stewing the horse beef; and several bas- 
y kots, containing fifty or sixty pairs of mocca- 
«ins, indicated the presence, or expectation, 
' of a considerable party. Tliey released the 
' boy, who had given strong evidence of the 
stoicism, or something else, of the f=avage 
character, in commencing his breakfast upon 
a horse's head as soon as he found he was 
not to be killed, but only tied as a prisoner. 
Their object accomplished, our men gathered 
up all the surviving horses, fifteen in number, 
returned upon their trail, and rejoined us at our 
^ camp in the afternoon of the same day. They 
I had rode about 100 miles in the pursuit and 
' return, and all in thirty hours. The time, place, 
object, and numbers, considered, this expedi- 
tion of Carson and Godcy may be considered 
among the boldest and most disinterested 
which the annals of western adventure, so 
j -full of daring deeds, can present. Two men. 
, in a savage desert, pursue day and niglit an 
tinknown body of Indians into the defiles of 
ari unknown mountain— attack them on sight, 
•without counting numbers— and defeat them 
in an instant — and for what? To punish 
■the robbers of the desert, and to avenge the 
Uwonga of Mexicans whom they did not 



W3 

know. I repeat : it was Carson and Godey 
who did this — the former an Anwrican^ born 
in the Boonslick county of Missouri ; the lat- 
ter a PVenchman, born in St. Louis — and 
both trained to western enterprise from early 
life. \ 

By the information of Fuentes, we had 
now to make a long stretch of forty or fifty 
miles across a plain which lay between us 
and the next possible camp ; and we resum- 
ed our journey late in the afternoon, with the 
intention of travelling through the night, 
and avoiding the excessive heat of the day, 
which was oppressive to our animals. For 
several hours we travelled across a high 
plain.^passing, at tlie opposite side, through 
a cafion by the bed of a creek running 
norlhioardiy into a small lake beyond, and 
both of them being dry. We had a warm, 
moonshiny night;' and, travelling directly 
towards the north star, we journeyed now 
across an open plain between mountain 
ridges ; that on the left being broken, rocky, 
and bald, according to the information of 
Carson and t^Iodoy, who had entered here ia 
pursuit of the horses. The plain appeared co- 
vered principally with the zugophylium Cali- 
fornicuin already mentioned; and the line 
of our road was marked by the skeletoiw of 
horses, which were strewed to a considera- 
ble breadth over the plain. We were after- 
wards always warned, on entering one of 
these long stretches, by the bones of these 
animals, which Jiad perished before they could 
reach the water. About midnight we reach- 
ed a considerable stream bed, now dry, the 
discharge of the waters of this basin (when 
it collected any), down which we de.scended 
in a northwesisiiy direction. Tiie creek 
bed was overgrown with shrubbery, and se- 
veral hours before day it brought us to the 
entrance of a caiion, where we found water, 
and encamped. This word caiim is used 
by the Spaniards to signify a defile or gorge 
in a creek or river, where, high roclte press 
iri close, and make a narrow way, usually 
diflicult, and often impossible to be passed. 

In the morning we found that we had a 
very poor camping ground: a swampy, 
salty spot, vv ith a little long, unwholesome 
grpe ; and the water, which rose in springs, 
being useful only to wet the mouth, but en- 
tirely too salt to drink. All around was 
sand and rocks, and slteletons of horses 
which had not been able to find support for 
their lives. As we were about to start, we 
found, at the distance of a few hundred 
yards, among the hills to the southward, a 
spring of tolerably good water, whicli was a 
relief to our.selves ; but the place waa too poor 
to remain long, and therefore we continued 
on this morning. On the creek were thick- 
ets of sjArolobium odorahim (acAcia) in 
bloom, and vsry fragrant. 



164 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1844. 



Passing through the canon, we entered 
another sandy basin, through which the dry 
stream bed continued its northwesterly 
course, in whic!i direction appeared a high 
snowy mountain. 

We travelled through a barren district, 
where a heavy gale was blowing about 
the loose sand, and, after a ride of eight 
miles, reached a large creek of salt and bit- 
ter water, running in a westerly direction, 
to receive the stream bed we had left. It is 
called by the Spaniards Amargosa — the bit- 
ter water of the desert. Where we struck 
it, the stream bends ; and we continued in a 
northerly course up the ravine of its valley, 
passing on the way a fork from the right, 
near which occurred a bed cf plants, con- 
sisting of a remarkable new genus of critcl- 
ferce. 

Gradually ascending, the ravine opened 
into a green valley, where, at the foot of the 
mountain, were sprinj^s of e.xcellcnt water. 
We encamped among groves of the new 
acadia, and there was an abundance of good 
grass for the animals. ■ 

This was the best camping ground we had 
seen since we struck the Spanish trail. The 
day's journey was about twelve miles. 

April 29. — To-day we had to reach the 
Archilette, distant seven miles, where the 
Mexican party had been attacked ; and leav- 
ing our encampment early, we traversed a 
part of the desert, the most sterile and repul- 
sive that we had yet seen. Its prominent 
features were dark sierras, naked and dry ; 
on the plains a few straggling shrubs — 
among them, cactus of several varieties. 
Fuentes pointed out one called by tlic Span- 
iards bisnada, which has a juicy pulp, slight- 
ly acid, and is eaten by the traveller to allay 
thirst. Our course was generally north ; 
and, after crossing an intervening ridge, we 
descended into a sandy plain, or basin, in the 
middle of which was the grassy spot, with 
its springs and willow bushes, which consti- 
tutes a camping place in the dc.^ert, and is 
called the Arckilelte. The dead silence of 
the place was ominous; and, galloping ra- 
pidly up, we found only the corpses of the 
two men : everything else was gone. They 
were naked, mutilated, and pierced with ar- 
rows. Hernandez had evidently fought, and 
with desperation. lie lay in advance of the 
willow half-faced tent, which sheltered his 
family, as if he had come out to meet dan- 
ger, and to repulse it from that asylum. One 
of his hands, and both his legs, had been cut 
off. Giacome, who was a large and strong 
looking man, was lying in one of the willow 
shelters, pierced with arrows. Of the 
women no trace could be found, and it was 
evident they had been carried off captive. 
A little lap-dog, which had belonged to Pa- 
blo's mother, remained with the dead bodies, 



and wa.s frantic with joy at seeing Pablo : 
he, poor child, was frantic with grief; and 
filled the air with lamentations for his father 
and mother. Mi padre! Mimadre'. — was 
his incessant cry. When we beheld this 
pitiable sight, and pictured to ourselves the 
fate of the two women, carried off by sava- 
ges so brutal and so loathsome, all compunc- 
tion for the scalped-alive Indian ceased ; and 
we '■ejoiced that Carson and Godcy had been 
able to give ,so useful a lesson to these 
American Arabs, who lie in wait to murder 
and plunder the innocent traveller. 

We were all too much affected by the sad 
feelings which the place inspired, to remain 
an unnecessary moment. The night vv'e 
were obliged to pass there. Early in the 
morning we left it, having first written a 
brief account of what had happened, and put 
it in the cleft of a pole planted at the spring, 
that the approaching caravan might learn 
the fate of tlieir friends. In commemoration 
of the event, we called the place Agua de 
Hernandez — Hernandez's spring. By obser- 
vation, its latitude was 35" 51' 21". 

A-pril 30. — We continued our journey over 
a district similar to that of the day before. 
From the sandy basin, in which Vv'as the 
spring, we entered another basin of the same 
character, surrounded everywhere by moun- 
tains. Before us stretched a high range, 
rising still higher to the left, and terminating 
in a snowy mountain. 

After a day's march of 24 miles, we reached 
at evening the bed of a stream from which the 
water had disappeared ; a little only remained 
in holes, which we increased by digging; 
and about a mile above, the stream, not yet 
entirely sunk, was spread out over the sands, 
affording a little water for the animals. The- 
stream came out of the mountains on the 
left, very slightly wooded with cottor^wcod, 
willow, and acacia, and a few dwarf oaks j 
and grass was nearly as scarce as water. A 
plant with showy yellow flowers (Stankya 
integrifolia) occurred abundantly at intervals 
for the last two days, and eriogoniim injla- 
lu?n was among the characteristic plants. 

May 1. — The air is rough, and overcoats 
pleasant. The sky is blue, and the day 
bright. Our road was over a plain, towards 
the foot of the mountain ; zygophyllum 
Californicum, now in bloom with a small 
yellow flower, is characteristic of the coun- 
try ; and cadi were very abundant, and hx 
rich fresh bloom, which wonderfully orna- 
ments tills poor country. We encamped at 
a spring in the pass, which had been the 
:-iLe of an old village. Hero we found excel- 
lent gi-ass, but very little water. We dug 
out the old spring, and watered some of our 
animals. The mountain here was wooded 
very slightly with the nut pine, cedars, an(l 
a dwarf species of oak ; and among the 



1844.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



ws 



shrubs were Pursilua iridentala, artemisia, 
and ephedra occidentalis. The numerous 
shrubs Vv'hich constitute the vegetation ot 
the plains are now in bloom, with flowers of 
white, yellow, red, and purple. The con- 
tinual rocks, and want of water and grass, 
begin to be very hard on onr mules and 
horses ; but the principal loss is occasioned 
by their crippled feet, the greater part of 
those left being in excellent order, and 
scarcely a day passes without some loss; 
and, one by one, Fuentes's horses are con- 
stantly dropping behind. Whenever they 
give out, he dismounts and cuts off their tails 
and manes, to make saddle girths ; the last 
advantage one can gain from them. 

The next day, in a short but rough ride 
of 12 miles, we crossed the mountain; and, 
descending to a small valley plain, encamped 
at the foot of the ridge, on the bed of a creek, 
where we found good grass in suificient 
quantity, and abundance of water in holes. 
The ridge is extremely rugged and broken, 
presenting on this side a continued precipice, 
and probably affords very fev/ passes. Many 
digger tracks are seen around us, but no In- 
dians were visible. 

May 3. — After a day's journey of 18 miles, 
in a northeasterly direction, we encamped in 
the midst of another very large basin, at a 
camping ground called las Vegas — a term 
which the Spaniards use to signify fertile or 
marshy plains, in contradistinction to llanos^ 
which they apply to dry and sterile plains. 
Two narrow streams of clear water, four or 
five feet deep, gush suddenly, with a quick 
current, from two singularly large springs ; 
tliese, and other waters of the basin, pass out 
in a gap to the eastward. The taste of the 
water is good, but rather too warm to be 
agreeable ; the temperature being 71° in the 
one, and 73"^ in the other. They, however, 
afforded a delightful bathing place. 

May 4, — We started this morning earlier 
than usual, travelling in a northeasterly di- 
rection across the plain. The new acacia 
{spirolobinm odoralum) has now become the 
characteristic tree of the country ; it is in 
bloom, and its blossoms are very fragrant. 
The day was still, and the heat, which soon 
became very oppressive, appeared to bring 
out strongly the refreshing scent of the 
zygophyllaceous shrubs and the sweet per- 
fume of the acacia. The snowy ridge we 
had just crossed looked out conspicuously in 
the northwest. In about five hours' ride, we 
crossed a gap in the surrounding ridge, and 
the appearance of skeletons of horses very 
soon warned us that v/e were engaged in 
another dry Jornada, which proved the long- 
est we had made in all our journey — between 
fifty and sixty miles without a drop of water. 
. Travellers through countries affording 
water and .timber, can have no conception of 



our intolerable thirst while journeying over 
the hot yellov.r sands of this elevated coun- 
try, where the heated air seems to be entire- 
ly deprived of moisture. We ate occasion- 
ally the hisnada, and moistened our mouths 
with the acid of the sour dock (rumex xeno- 
sus). Hourly expecting to find water, we 
continued to press on until towards midnight, 
when, after a hard and uninterrupted march, 
of 16 hours, our wild mules began running 
ahead ; and in a mile or two we came to a. 
bold running stream — so keen is the sense 
of that animal, in the.se desert regions, in 
scenting at a distance this necessary of life. 

According to the information we had re- 
ceived, Sevier river was a tributary of the 
Colorado ; and this, accordingly, should have 
been one of its afiiuents. It proved to be the 
Rio ds los Ar.geles (river of tlie Angels)— s 
branch of the Rio Virgen (river of the Vir- 
gin)- 

May 5. — On account of our animals, it 

was necessary to remain to-day at this place. 
Indians crowded numerously around us ins 
the morning; and we were obliged to keep 
arms in hand all day, to keep them out of 
the camp. They began to surround the 
horses, which, for the convenience of grass, 
we were guarding a little above, on the river. 
These were immediately driven in, and kept 
close to the camp. 

In the darkness of the night we had made 
a very bad encampment, our fires being 
commanded by a rocky bluff within 60 yards ; 
but, notwithstanding, we had the river and 
small thickets of willows on the other side. 
Several times during the day the camp was 
insulted by the Indians ; but, peace being our 
object, I kept simply on the defensive. Some 
of the Indians were on the bottoms, and others 
haranguing us from the bluffs ; and they were 
scattered in every direction over the hills.. 
Their language being probably a dialect of 
the Utah, with the aid of signs some of our 
people could comprehend them very well. 
They were the same people who had mur- 
dered the Mexicans ; and towards us their 
disposition was evidently hostile, nor were 
we well disposed towards them. They were 
barefooted, and nearly naked ; their hair gath- 
ered up into a knot behind ; and with his 
bow, each man carried a quiver with thirty 
or forty arrows partially drawn out. Besides 
these, each held in his hand two or three ar- 
rows for instant service. Their arrows are 
barbed with a very clear translucent stone, a^ 
species of opal, nearly as hard as the dia- 
mond ; and, shot from their long bow, arc aW 
most as effective as a gunshot. In these 
Indians, I was forcibly struck by an expres- 
sion of countenance resembling that in & 
beast of prey ; and all their actions are those 
of wild animals. Joined to the restless mo- 
tion of the eye, there is a want of mind — sit 



166 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1844. 



absence of thought — am! an action ■svholly 
by impulse, strongly expressed, and which 
constantly recalls the similarity. 

A man who appeared to be a chief, with 
two or three other.s, forced himself into camp, 
bringing with him his arm^, in spite of my 
orders to the contrary. When shown our 
weapons, he bored hi.^ ear with his fing;ers, 
and suid he could not hear. '• Why," said 
iie, " there are none of yon." Counting the 
I>eople around the camp, and including in the 
number a mule which was b?ing ehod, he 
made out 23. " So many," said he, showing 
the number, " and we — we are a great 
many ;" and he p-jinted to tlie hills and moun- 
tains round about. " If you have your arms," 
naid lie, twanging his bow," we have these." 
I had some difficulty in restraining the peo- 
jilc, particularly Carson, who felt an inaull 
uf this kind as much as if it had been given 
by a more responsible being. '' Don't say 
that, old man," eaid he ; " don't yon say that 
— your life's in danger " — speaking in good 
Bngiish ; and probably the old man was 
nearer to his end than he will be before he 
meets it. 

Several animals had been necessarily left 
behind near the camp last night ; and early 
in the moniing, before the Indians made their 
appearance, several men were sent to bring 
them in. When I wa.s beginning to be un- 
eaay at their absence, they returned witli in- 
formation that they had been driven off from 
the trail by Indians ; and, having followed 
the tracks in a short distiiv.ce, they found the 
-animals cut up and spread out upon buslies. 
In the evening I gave a fatigued horse to 
some of the Indians for a feast ; and the vil- 
lage which carried him off refused to share 
with the others, who made loud complaints 
from the rocks of tlie partial distribution. 
Many of these Indians had long sticks, hook- 
ed at the end, which they used in hauling out 
lizards, and other small animals, from their 
holes. During the day they occasionally 
roasted and ate lizards at our fires. These 
belong to the people who are generally known 
under the name of Diggers ; and to these I 
have more particularly had reference when 
oceasionally speaking of a people whose sole 
occHputlon is to procure food sufficient to 
support existence. The formation here con- 
sists of fine yellow sandstone, alternating with 
a coarse conglomerate, in which the stones 
are from the size of ordinary gravel to six or 
eight inches in diameter. This is the forma- 
tion which renders the surface of the coun- 
try so rocky, and gives us now a road alter- 
nately of loose heavy sands and rolled stones, 
which cripple the animals in a most extraor- 
dinary manner. 

On the following morning v.'e left the Rio 
lie los Angeles^ and continued our way through 
tije same dosolat© and revolting country, 



where lizards were the only animal, and the 
tracks of the lizard eaters the principal sign 
of human brings. After twenty miles* 
march through a road of hills and heavy 
sands, we reached the most dreary river I 
have ever scon — a deep rapid stream, almost 
a torrent, piissing swiftly by, and roaring 
against obstructions. The banks were 
wooded with willow, acacia, and a frequent 
plant of the country already mentioned 
{Garrya eUi;itica'), grov/ing in thickets, re- 
sembling willow, and bearing a small pink 
flower. Crossing it, we encamped on tho 
left bank, where we found a very little grass. 
Our three remaining steers, being entirely 
given out, were killed here. By the boiling 
point, the elevation of the river here is 4,060 
feet; and latitude, by observation, 30° 41' 
33". The stream was rinming towards the 
southwest, and appeared to come from a 
snowy mountain in the north. It proved to 
be the Rio Virgcn — a tributary to the Colo- 
rado. Indians appeared in bands on the hills, 
but did not come into camp. For several 
days wc continued our journey up tho river, 
the bottoms of which were thickly overgrown 
with various kinds of brush ; and the sandy 
soil was absolutely covered with the tracks 
of Diggers, who followed us stealthily, lik© 
a band of wolves ; and we had no opportunity 
to leave behind, even for a few liours, tlie 
tired animals, in order that they might be 
brought into camp after a little repose. A 
horse or mule, left behind, was taken off in a 
moment. On the evening of the 8th, having 
travelled 28 miles up the river from our first 
encampment on it, we encamped at a little 
grass plat, where a spring of cool water is- 
sued from the bluff. On the oppo.-ite side 
was a grove of cottonwoods at the mouth of 
a fork, which here enters the river. On ei- 
ther side the valley is bounded by ranges of 
mountains, everywhere high, rocky, and 
broken. The caravan road was lost and 
scattered in the sandy country, and we had 
been following an Indian trail up the river. 
The hunters the next day were sent out to 
reconnoitre, and in the meantime we moved 
about a mile farther up, where we found a 
good little patch of grass. There being only 
sufficient grass for the night, the horses 
were sent with a strong guard in charge of 
Tabeau to a neighboring hollow, w here thety 
might pasture during the day ; and, to be 
ready in case the Indians should make any 
attempt on the animals, several of the best 
horses were pickcf.ed at th.e camp. In a few 
hours the hunters returned, having found a 
convenient ford in the river, and discovered 
the Spanish trail on the other side. 

I had been engaged in arranging plants ; 
and, fatigued with the heat of the day, I fell 
asleep in the afternoon, and did not awake 
until sundown. Presently Carson caino to 



1844.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



167 



me, and reported that Tabeao, who oarly in 
the day had left his post, and, without my 
knowledge, rode back to the camp we had 
left, in search of a lame male, had not re- 
turned. While we were speaking, a smoke 
rose suddenly from the cottonwood prove be- 
low, which plainly told us what had befali^^n 
him ; it was raised to inform ihe surro^and- 
ing Indians that a blow had been strucri, and 
to tell them to he on their guard. Carson, 
with several men we!! mounted, was instantly 
sent down the river, but returned in the night 
without tidings of the missing man. They 
went to the camp we had left, but neither he 
nor the mulo was there. Searching down 
the river, they found the tracks of tiie mule, 
evidently driven along by Indian?, whose 
tracks v/ere on each side of those made by 
the animal. After gning several miles, they 
came to the mule ilseli, standing in some 
bushes, mortally wounded in the side by an 
arrow, and left to die, that it might be after- 
wards butchered for food. They also found, 
in another place, as they were hunting about 
on the ground for Tabeau's tracks, some- 
thing that looked like a little puddle of blood, 
but which the darkness prevented them from 
verifying. With these details they returned 
to our camp, and their report saddened all our 
hearts. 

May 10. — This morning as soon as there 
was light enough to follow tracks, I set out 
myself, with Mr. Fitzpatrick and several 
men, in search of Tabeau. We went to 
the spot where the appearance of puddled 
blood had been seen ; and this, we saw at 
once, had been the place where he fell and 
died. Blood upon the leaves, and beaten 
down bushes, showed that he had got his 
wound about twenty paces from where he 
fell, and that he had stru^led for his life. 
He had probably been shot through the 
lungs with an arrow. From the place where 
he lay and bled, it could be seen that he had 
been dragged to the river bank, and thrown 
into it. No vestige of what had belonged to 
him could be found, except a fragment of his 
horse equipment. Horse, gun, clothes — all 
became the prey of these Arabs of the Nev/ 
World. 

Tabeau had been one of our best men, 
and his unhappy death spread a gloom ovei 
our party. Men, who have gone through 
such dangers and sufferings as we had seen, 
become like brothers, and feel each other's 
loss. To defend and avenge each other, is 
the deep feeling of all. We wished to 
avenge iiis death ; but the condition of our 
horses, languishing for grass and repose, 
forbade an expedition into unknown moun- 
tains. We knew the tribe who had done 
tlic mischief — the same which had been in- 
eulting our camp. They knew what they 
deserved, and had the discretion to show 



themselves to us no more. The day before, 
they infested our camp; now, not one ap- 
peared ; nor did we ever afterwards see but 
one who even belonged to the same tribe, 
and he at a distance. 

Our camp was in a basin below a deej 
canon — a gap of tv/o thousand feet de^ in> 
the mountain- — througli which the ilio Virgfm. 
passes, and where no man or beast could 
follow it. The Spanish trail, which we had 
lost in the sands of the basin, was on the 
opposite side of the river. We crossed over 
to it, and followed it northwardly towards -a 
gap which was visible in the mountain. Wa 
approached it by a defile, rendered difilculi 
for our barefooted animals by the rocks 
strewed along it ; and here t.he country 
changed its character. From the time we 
entered the desert, the mountains had been 
bald and rocky ; here they began to be wood- 
ed with cedar and pine, and clusters of trees 
gave shelter to birds — a new and welcome 
sight — which could not have lived in the 
desert we had passed. 

Descending a long hollow, towards the 
narrow valley of a stream, we sav/ before us 
a snowy mountain, far beyond which ap- 
peared another more lofty still. Good bunch 
grass began to appear on the hill sides, and 
here we found a singular variety of inter- 
esting fihruba. The changed appearance of 
the country infused among our people a 
more lively spirit, which was heightened 
by finding at evening a halting place of very 
good grass on the clear waters of the Santa 
Clara fork of the Rio Virgen. 

May 11. — The morning was cloudy and 
quite cool, with a shower of rain — the first 
we have had since entering the desert, a pe- 
riod of twenty-seven days ; and we seem to 
have entered a different climate, with the 
usual weather of the Rocky mountains. 
Our march to-day was very laborious, over 
ver)' broken ground, along the Santa Clara 
river ; but then the country is no longer so- 
distressingly desolate. The stream is pret- 
tily wooded with sweet cottonwood trees — 
some of them of large size ; and on the hills„ 
where the nut pine is often seen, a good and 
wholesome grass occurs frequently. This 
cottonwood, which is now in fruit, is of a 
different species from any in Michaux's Sylva, 
Heavy dark clouds covered the sky in the 
evening, and a cold wind sprang up, making, 
fires and overcoats comfortable. 

May 12. — A little above our encampment, 
the river forked ; and we continued up the 
right-hand branch, gradually ascending try- 
wards the summit of the mountain. As we 
rose towards the head of the creek, the 
snowy mountain on our right showed out 
handsomely — high and rugged with preci- 
pices, and covered with snow for about two 
thousand feet from their summits down. 



168 



CAPT FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1841. 



Our animals were somewhat repaid for their 
hard marches by an excellent camping ground 
on the summit of the ridge, which forms here 
tlie dividing chain between the waters of the 
Rio Virgen, which goes south to the Colora- 
do, and those of Sevier river, flowing north- 
wardly, and belonging to the Great Ba.sin. 
Wc considered ourselves as crossing the rim 
of the basin ; and, entering it at this point, we 
found here an e.xteiisive mountain meadow, 
rich in bunch grass, and fresh with numerous 
springs of clear water, all refreshing and 
delightful to look upon. It was, in fact, tiiat 
las Vegas de Sanfa Clara, which had been 
so long presented to us as the terminating 
point of the desert, and where the annual 
caravan from California to New Mexico 
halted and recruited for some weeks. It 
was a very suitable place to recover from 
the fatigue and exhaustion of a month's 
suffering in the hot and sterile desert. The 
meadow was about a mile wide, and some 
ten miles long, bordered by grassy hills and 
mountains — some of the latter rising two 
thousand feet, and white with snow down to 
the level of the vegas. Its elevation above 
the sea was 6,280 feet ; latitude, by obser- 
vation, 37° 28' 28" ; and its distance from 
where we first struck the Spanish trail about 
four hundred miles. Counting from the 
time we reached the desert, and began to 
skirt, at our descent from Walker's Pass in 
tlie Sierra Nevada, we had travelled 550 
miles, occupying twenty-seven days, in that 
inhospitable region. In passing before the 
great caravan, we had the advantage of 
finding more grass, but the disadvantage of 
finding also the marauding savages, who 
had gathered down upon tlie trail, waiting 
the approach of that prey. This greatly 
increased our labors, besides costing us the 
life of an excellent man. Wc had to move 
all day in a state of watch, and prepared 
for combat — scouts and flankers out, a front 
and rear division of our men, and baggage 
animals in the centre. At night, camp duty 
was severe. Those who had toiled all day, 
had to guard, by turns, the camp and the 
horses, all night. Frequently one third of 
the whole party were on guard at once ; 
and nothing but this vigilance saved us 
from attack. We were constantly dog- 
ged by bands, and even whole tribes of 
the marauders; and although Tabeau 
was killed, and our camp infested and 
insulted by some, while swarms of them 
remained on the hills and mountain sides, 
there was manifestly a consultation and cal- 
culation going on, to decide the question of 
attacking us. Having reached the resting 
place of the Vegas de Santa Clara, we had 
complete relief from the heat and privations 
of the desert, and some relaxation from the 
severity of tjamp duty. Some relaxation, 



and relaxation only — for camp guards, horse 
guards, and scouts, are indispensable from 
the time of leaving the frontiers of Missouri 
until we return to them. 

After we left the Vegas, we had the grati- 
fication to be joined by the famous hunter 
and trapper, Mr. .Joseph Walker, whom I 
have before mentioned, and who now be- 
came our guide. He had left California 
with the great caravan ; and perceiving, 
from the signs along the trail, that there 
was a party of whites ahead, which he 
judged to be mine, he detached himself 
from the caravan, with eight men, (Ameri- 
cans,) and ran the gauntlet of the desert 
robbers, killing two, and getting some of the 
horses wounded, and succeeded in overta- 
king us. Nothing but his great knowledge 
of the country, great courage and presence 
of mind, and good rifles, could have brought 
him safe from such a perilous enterprise. 

Ma>/ 13. — We remained one day at this 
noted place of rest and refreshment ; and, 
resuming our progress in a northeastwardly 
direction, we descended into a broad valley, 
the water of which is tributary to Sevier 
lake. The next day we came in sight of 
the Wah-satch range of mountains on the 
right, white with snow, and here forming 
the southeast part of the Great Basin. 
Sevier lake, upon the waters of which we 
now were, belonged to the system of lakes 
in the eastern part of the Basin — of whicli, 
the Great Salt lake, and its southern limb, 
the Utaii lake, were the principal — towards 
the region of which we were now approach- 
ing. We travelled for several days in this 
direction, within the rim of the Great Basin, 
crossing little streams which bore to the left 
for Sevier lake ; and plainly seeing, by the 
changed aspect of the country, that we were 
entirely clear of the desert, and approaching 
the regions which appertained to the sys- 
tem of the Rocky mountains. We met, in 
this traverse, a few mounted Utah Indians, 
in advance of their main body, watching the 
approach of the great caravan. 

Mai/ 16. — We reached a small salt lake, 
about seven miles long and one broad, at the 
northern extremity of which we encamped 
for the night. This little lake, which well 
merits its characteristic name, lies imme- 
diately at the base of the Wah-.satch range, 
and nearly opposite a gap in that chain of 
mountains through which the Spanish trail 
passes ; and which, again falling upon the 
waters of the Colorado, and crossing that 
river, proceeds over a mountainous country 
to Santa Fe. 

May 17. — After 4-10 miles of travelling 
on a trail, which served for a road, we again 
found ourselves under the necessity of ex- 
ploring a track through the wilderness. 
The Spanish, trail had borne off to the 



1844.]: 



GAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE; 



l^ 



southeast, crossing the Wah-satch range. 
Our course led to the northeast, along the 
foot of that range, and leaving it on the 
right. The mountain presented itself to us 
under the form of several ridges, rising one 
ubove. the other, rocky, and wooded with 
pine and cedar ; the last ridge covered with 
snow. Seviev river, flowing northwardly to 
the lake of the same name, collects its prin- 
cipal waters from this section of the Wah- 
satch chain. We had now entered a region 
of great pastoral promise, abounding with 
tiue streams, the rich bunch grass, soil that 
would produce wheat, and indigenous liax 
growing as if it had been sown. Consistent 
with the general character of its bordering 
mountains, this fertility of soil and vegeta- 
tion does not extend fir into the Great 
Basin. Mr. Joseph Walker, our guide, and 
who has more knowledge of these parts than 
any man I know, informed me that all the 
country to the left was unknown to him, 
and that even the Digger tribes, which fre- 
quented Lake Sevier, could tell him nothing 
about it. 

Mai/ 20.-— We met a band of Utah In- 
dians, headed by a well-known chief, who 
had obtained the American or English 
name of Walker, by which he is quoted 
and well known. They were all mounted, 
armed with rifles, and use their rifles well. 
The chief had a fusee, which he had carried 
slung, in addition to his rifle. They were 
journeying slowly towards the Spanish trail, 
to levy their usual tribute upon the great 
Californian caravan. They were robbers 
of a higher order than those of the desert. 
They conducted their depredations with i 
form, and under the color of trade and toll 
for passing through their country. Instead 
of attacking and killing, they affect to pur- 
chase — taking the horses they like, and giv- 
ing something nominal in return. The 
chief was quite civil to me. He was per- 
sonally acquainted with his namesake, our 
guide, who made my name known to liim. 
He knew of my expedition of 1842; and, 
as tokens of friendship, and proof that we 
had met, proposed an interchange of pres- 
ents. We had no great store to choose out 
of; so he gave me a Mexican blanket, and 
I gave him a very fme one which I had ob- 
tained at Vancouver. 

May 23. — We reached Sevier river — the 
main tributary of the lake of the same name 
— which, deflecting from its northern course, 
here breaks from the mountains to enter the 
lake. It was really a fine river, from eight 
to twelve feet deep; and, after searching in 
vain for a fordable place, we made little 
boats (or, rather, rafts) out of bulrushes, 
and ferried across. These rails are readily 
made, and give a good conveyance across a 
river.. The rushes are bound in bundles, 



and lied hard ; the bundles are tied down 
upon poles, as close as they can be pressed, 
and fashioned like a boat, in being broader 
in the middle and pointed at the ends. The 
rushes, being tubular and jointed, are light 
and strong. The raft swims well, and is 
shoved along by poles, or paddled, or pushed 
and pulled by swimmers, or drawn by ropes. 
On this occasion, we used ropes — one at 
each end — and rapidly drew our little float 
backwards and forv/ards, from shore to 
shore. The horses swam. At our place 
of crossing, which was the most northern 
point of its bend, the latitude was 3!P 22' 
19". The banks sustained the charactei 
for fertility and vegetation which we had 
seen for some days. The name of this 
river and lake was an indication of our ap- 
proach to regions of which our people had 
been the explorers. It was probably named 
after some American trapper or hunter, and 
was the first American name we had met 
with since leaving the Columbia river. 
From the Dalles to the point where we 
turned across the Sierra Nevada, near 1,000 
miles, we heard Indian names, and the 
greater part of the distance none ; from 
Nueva Helvetia (Sacramento) to las Vegas 
de Santa Clara, about 1,000 more, all were 
Spanish ; from the Mississippi to the Pa- 
cific, French and American or English 
were intermixed : and this prevalence of 
names indicates the national character of 
the first explorers. 

We had here the mi-sfortune to lose one of 
our people, Fran(;ois Badeau, who had been 
with me in both expeditions ; during which 
he had always been one of my most faithful 
and efllcient men. He was killed in drawing 
towards him a gun by t!ie muzzle ; the ham- 
mer being caught, discharged the gnn, dri- 
ving the ball through his head. We buried 
him on the banks of t!je river. 

Crossing the .lext day a slight ridge along 
the river, we entered a handsome mountain 
valley covered with fine grass, and directed 
our course toward.s a high snowy peak, at 
the foot of which lay the Utah lake. On 
our right was a bed of high mountains, their 
summits covered with snow, constituting the 
dividing ridge between the Basin water.'* 
and those of the Colorado. At noon we fell 
in with a party of Utah Indians coming out 
of tlie mountain, and in the afternoon en- 
camped on a tributary to the lake, which is 
separated from the waters of the Sevier by 
very slight dividing grounds. 

Early the next day we came in sight of 
the lake ; and, as we descended to the 
broad bottoms of the Spanish fork, three 
horsenien were seen galloping towards us, 
who proved to be Utah Indians — scouts 
from a village, v.'hich was encamped near 
the mouth of the river. They were armed 



170 



CAPT. "FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1844. 



with rifles, and their horaes wore in pood 
condition. We encamped near them, on the 
Spanish fork, which is one of the principal 
tributaries to the lake. P'inding the Indians 
troublesome, and desirous to remain here a 
day, we removed the next morning farther 
down the lake, and encamped on a fertile 
bottom near the foot of the same mountain- 
ous ridge which borders the Great Salt 
lake, and along which we had journeyod the 
previous September. Here the principal 
plants in bloom were two, which were re- 
markable as affording to the Snake Indians 
— the one an abundant supply of food, and 
the other the most useful among the appli- 
cations which they use for wounds. These 
were the kooyah plant, growing in fields of 
extraordinary luxuriance, and convollaria 
■stellata, which, from the experience of Mr. 
Walker, is the best remedial plant known 
among those Indians. A few miles below 
us was another village of Indians, from 
vv'hich we obtained some fish — among them 
a few salmon trout, which were very much 
inferior in size to those along the Califor- 
nian mountains. The season for taking 
them had not yet arrived; but the Indians 
were daily expecting them to come up out 
of the lake. 

We had now accomplished an object we 
had in view when leaving the Dalles of the 
Columbia in November last : we had reach- 
^d the Utah lake ; but by a route very dif- 
ferent from what we had intended, and 
without sufficient time remaining to make 
the e.vaminations which were desired. It 
is a lake of note in this country, under the 
dominion of the Utahs, who resort to it for 
fish. Its greatest breadth is about 15 miles, 
stretching far to the north, narrowing as it 
goes, and connecting with the Great Salt 
lake. Tliis is the report, and which I be- 
lieve to be correct ; bat it is fresh water, 
while the other is not only salt, but a satu- 
rated solution of salt ; and liere is a problem 
which requires to be solved. It is almost 
entirely surrounded by mountains, walled on 
the north and east by a high and snov.y 
range, which supplies to it a fan of tributa- 
ry streams. Among these, the principal 
river is the Timpnn-o'^o — signifying Kock 
river — a name which the rocky grandeur of 
its scenery, remarkable even in this coun- 
try of rugged mountains, has obtained for it 
from the Indians. In the Utah language, 
o{^-wdh-be, the term for river, when cou- 
pled with other words in conmion conversa- 
tion, is usually abbreviated to ogo ; timpan 
signifying rock. It is probable that this 
river furnished the name which on the older 
maps has been generally applied to the 
Great Salt lake ; but for this I have prefer- 
red a name whicli will be regarded as high- 
ly characteristic, restricliog to tho river the 



descriptive term Timpan-ogo, and leaving 
for the lake into which it flows the name of 
the people who reside on its shores, and by 
which it is known throughout the country. 

The volume of water aflbrded by the 
Timpan-ogo is probably equal to that of the 
Sevier river; and, at the time of our visit, 
there was only one place in the lake valley 
at which the Spanish fork was fordable. la 
the cove of mountains along its eastern 
shore, the lake is bordered by a plain, where 
the soil is generally good, and in greater 
part fertile ; watered by a delta of prettily 
timbered streams. This would be an ex- 
cellent locality for stock farms ; it is goner- 
ally covered with good bunch grass, and 
would abundantly produce the ordinary 
grains. 

In arriving at the Utah lake, we had com- 
pleted an immense circuit of twelve degrees 
diameter north and south, and ten degrees 
east and west ; and found ourselves, in May, 
1844, on the same sheet of water which we 
had left in September, 1843. The Utah is 
the southern limb of the Great Salt lake ; 
and thus we had seen that remarkable sheet 
of water both at its northern and southern 
extremity, and were able to fix its position 
at these two points. The circuit which we 
had made, and which had cost us eight 
months of time, and 3,500 miles of travel- 
ling, had given us a view of Oregon and of 
North California from the Rocky mountains 
to the Pacific ocean, and of the two princi- 
pal streams which form bays or harbors on 
the coast of that sea. Having comfJeted 
this circuit, and being now about to turn 
the back upon the Pacific slojje of our con- 
tinent, and to recross the Rocky mountains, 
it is natural to look back upon our footsteps, 
and take some brief view of the leading 
features and general structure of the coun- 
try we had traversed. These are peculiar and 
striking, and differ essentially from the At- 
lantic side of our country. The mountains 
all are higher, more numerous, and more 
distinctly defined in their ranges and direc- 
tions ; and, what is so contrary to the natu- 
ral order of such formations, one of these 
ranges, which is near the coast, (the Sier.'-* 
Nevada and tho Coast Range,) presents 
higher elevations and peaks than any which 
are to be found in the Rocky mountains 
themselves. In our eight months' circuit, 
we were never out of sight of snow ; and 
the Sierra Nevada, where we crossed it, 
was near 2.000 feet higher than the South 
Pass in the Rocky mountains. In height, 
these mountains greatly exceed those of the 
Atlantic side, constantly presenting peaks 
whicli enter the region of eternal snow ; 
and some t)f them volcanic, and in a fre- 
quent state of activity. They are aeon at 



1644.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



171 



great distances, and guide the traveller in 
his courses. 

The course and elevation of these ranges 
give direction to the rivers and character to 
the coast. No great river docs, or can, take 
its rise below the Cascade and Sierra Ne- 
vada range ; the distance to the sea is too 
short to admit of it. The rivers of the San 
Francisco bay, which are the largest after 
the Columbia, arc local to that bay, and 
lateral to the coast, having their sources 
about on a line with the Dalles of the Co- 
lumbia, and running each in a valley of its 
Own, between Coast range and the Cascade 
and Sierra Nevada range. The Columbia 
is the only river which traverses the whole 
breadth of the country, breaking through 
all the ranges, and entering the sea. Draw- 
ing its waters from a section of ten de- 
grees of latitude in the Rocky mountains, 
which are collected into one stream by 
three main forks (Lewis's, Clark's, and the 
Norlli fork) near the centre of the Oregon 
valley, this great river thence proceeds by 
a single channel to the sea, while its three 
forks lead each to a pass in the mountains, 
which opens the, way into the interior of 
the continent. This fact in relation to the 
rivers of this region gives an immense val- 
ue to the Columbia. Its mouth is the only 
inlet and outlet to and from the sea ; its 
three forks lead to the passes in the moun- 
tains ; it is therefore the only line of com- 
munication between the Pacilic and the in- 
terior of North America; and all operations 
of war or commerce, of national or social 
intercourse, must be conducted upon it. 
This gives it a value beyond estimation, and 
would involve irreparable injury if lost. In 
this unity and concentration of its waters, 
the Pacific side of our continent differs en- 
tirely from the Atlantic side, where the 
waters of the Alleghany mountains are dis- 
persed into many rivers, having their differ- 
ent entrances into the sea, and opening 
many lines of communication with the in- 
terior. I 

The Pacific coast is equally different j 
from that of ihe Atlantic. The coast of i this kind, and quite a large one; and hav- 
the Atlantic is low an<l open, indented with ing many streams, and one considerable 
numerous bays, sounds, and river estuaries, | river, four or five hundred miles lon^ 



mountains, with its concentration and unity 
of waters, gives to the countiy an immense 
military .strength, and will probably render 
Oregon the most impregnable country in 
the world. 

Differing so much from the Atlantic side 
of our continent, in coast, mountains, and 
rivers, the Pacific side differs from it in 
another most rare and singular feature — 
that of the Great interior Basin, of which I 
have so often spoken, and the whole form 
and character of which I was so anxious to 
ascertain. Its existence is vouched for by 
such of the American traders and hunters 
as have some knowledge of that region ; 
the structure of the Sierra Nevada range 
of mountains requires it to be there ; and 
my own observations confirm it. Mr. 
Joseph Walker, who is so well acquainted 
in tho.?e parts, informed mc that, from the 
Great Salt lake west, there was a succes- 
sion of lakes and rivers which have no 
outlet to the sea, nor any connection with 
the Columbia, or with the Colorado of the 
Gulf of California. He described some 
of these lakes as being large, with numerous 
streams, and even considerable rivers, 
falling into them. In fact, all concur in 
the general report of these interior rivers 
and lakes ; and, for want of understanding 
the force and power of evaporation, which 
so soon establishes an equilibrium between 
the loss and supply of waters, the fable of 
whirlpools and subterraneous outlets has 
gained belief, as the only imaginable way 
of carrying off^ the waters which have no 
visible discharge. The structure of the 
country would require this for.mation of in- 
terior lakes ; for the waters whicli would 
collect between the Rocky mountains and 
the Sierra Nevada, not being able to cross 
this formidable barrier, nor to get to the 
Columbia or the Colorado, must naturally 
collect into reservoirs, each of which would 
have its little svstcm of streams and rivers 
to supply it. This would be the natural 
effect ; and what I saw went to confirm it. 
The Great Salt lake is a fonuation of 



accessible everywhere, and opening by many 
channels into the heart of the country. The 
Pacific coast, on the contrary, is high and 
compact, with few bays, and but one that 
opens into the heart of the country. The 
immediate coast is what the seamen call 
iron bound. A little within, it is skirted 
by two successive ranges of mountains, 
standing as ramparts between the sea and 
the interior country ; and to get tlirough 
which, there is but one gate, and that nar- 
row and easily defended. This structure 
of the coast, backed by these two ranges of 



falling into it. This lake and river 1 saw 
and examined myself; and also saw the 
Wah-satch and Bear River mountains which 
enclose the waters of the lake on the east, 
and con.stitute, in that quarter, the rim of 
the Great Basin. Afterwards, along the 
eastern base of the Sierra Nevada, where 
we travelled for forty-two days, I saw the 
line of lakes and rivers which lie at the 
foot of that Sierra ; and which Sierra is 
the western rim of the Basin. In going- 
down Lewis's fork and the main Columbia, 
I crossed ouly inferior streams coming in 



172 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1811. 



from the left, such as couUl draw theiv 
•water from a short distance only ; and I 
often saw the mountains at their heads, 
xvhite with snow ; which, all accounts said, 
divided the waters of the desert from those 
of the Columbia, and which could be no 
other than the range of mountains which 
form the rim of the }3asin on its northern 
side. And in returning from California 
along the Spanish trail, as far as the head 
of the Santa Clara fork of the Rio Virgen, 
1 crossed only small streams making their 
way south to the Colorado, or lost in sand — 
as the Mo-hah-ve ; while to the left, lofty 
mountains, their summits white with snow, 
were often visible, and which must have 
turned water to the north as well as to the 
south, and thus constituted, on this part, 
the southern rim of the Basin. At the 
head of the Santa Clara fork, and in the 
Vegas de Santa Clara, we crossed the 
ridge which parted the two systems of 
waters. We entered the Basin at that 
point, and have travelled in it ever since, 
having its southeastern rim (the Wah-satch 
mountain) on the right, and crossing the 
streams which flow down into it. The ex- 
istence of the Basin is therefore an estab- 
lished fact in my mind ; its extent and con- 
tents are yet to be better ascertained. It 
cannot be less than four or five hundred 
miles each way, and must lie principally in 
the Alta California ; the demarcation lati- 
tude of 42'-' probably cutting a segment 
from the north part of the rim. Of its in- 
terior, but little is known. It is called a 
desert, and, from what I saw of it, sterility 
may be its prominent characteristic ; but 
•where there is so much water, there must 
be some oasis. The great river, and the 
great lake, reported, rnay not be equal to 
the report ; but whore there is so much 
snow, there must be streams ; and where 
(there is no outlet, there must be lakes to 
hold the accumulated waters, or sands to 
swallow them up. In tliis eastern part of 
the Basin, containing Sevier, Utah, and the 
Great Salt lakes, and the rivers and creeks 
falling into them, we know there is good 
aoil and good grass, adapted to civilized 
settlements. lu the western part, on Sal- 
mon Trout river, and some other streams, 
the same remark may be made. 

The contents of this Great Basin are yet 
to be examined. That it is peopled, we 
know; but miserably and sparsely. From 
iill that I heard and saw, I should say that 
humanity here appeared in its lowest form, 
and in its most elementary state. Dis- 
persed in single families; without fire-arms; 
eating seeds and insects ; digging roots, 
(and hence their name,) — such is the con- 
dition of the greater part. Others are a 
(degree higher, and live in communities 



upon some lake or river that supplies fish, 
and from which they repulse the miserable 
Digger. The rabbit is the largest animal 
known in this desert ; its flesh affords a 
little meat; and their bag-like covering is 
made of its skins. The wild sage is their 
only wood, and here it is of extraordi- 
nary size — sometimes a foot in diameter, 
and six or eight feet high. It serves for 
fuel, for building material, for shelter to the 
rabbits, and for some sort of covering for 
the feet and legs in cold weather. Such 
are the accounts of the inhabitants and pro- 
ductions of the Great Basin; and which, 
though imperfect, must have some founda- 
tion, and excite our desire to know the 
whole. 

The whole idea of such a desert, and such 
a people, is a novelty in our country, and 
excites Asiatic, not American ideas. Inte- 
rior basins, with their own systems of lakes 
and rivers, and often sterile, are common 
enough in Asia ; people still in the elemen- 
tary state of families, living in deserts, with 
no other occupation than the mere animal 
search for food, may still be seen in that 
ancient quarter of the globe ; but in Ameri- 
ca such things are new and strange, un- 
known and unsuspected, and discredited 
when related. But I flatter myself that 
what is discovered, though not enough to 
satisfy curiosity, is sufficient to excite it, and. 
that subsequent explorations will complete 
what has been commenced. 

This account of the Great Basing it will 
be remembered, belongs to the Alta Cali- 
fornia, and has no application to Oregon, 
whose capabilities ma}' justify a separate 
remark. Referring to my journal for par- 
ticular descriptions, and for sectional boun- 
daries between good and bad districts, I can 
only say, in general and comparative terms, 
that, in that branch of agriculture which im- 
plies the cultivation of grains and staple 
crops, it would be inferior to the Atlantic 
States, though many parts are superior for 
wheat ; while in the rearing of flocks and 
herds it would claim a high place. Its 
grazing capabilities are great ; and even ill 
the indigenous grass now there, an^lemertt 
of individual and national wealth may be 
found. In fact, the valuable grasses begin 
within one hundred and fifty miles of the 
Missouri frontier, and extend to the Pacific 
ocean. East of the Rocky mountains, it i's 
the short curly grass, on which the buffalo 
delight to feed, (whence its name of buffalo,) 
and which is still good when dry and appa- 
rently dead. West of those mountains it is 
a larger grov.'th, in clusters, and hence called 
bunch grass, and which has a second or foil 
growth. Plains and mountains both exhibit 
them ; and I have seen good pasturage at ah 
elevation of ten thousand feet. la this 



1844.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE; 



173 



spontaneous product the trading or travelling 
caravans can find subsistence for their ani- 
mals ; and in inilitar}' operations any num- 
ber of cavalry may be moved, and any num- 
ber of cattle may be driven ; and thus men 
and horses be supported on long expeditions, 
and even in winter, in the sheltered situa- 
tions. 

Commercially, the value of the Oregon 
country must be great, washed as it is by 
the north Pacific ocean — fronting Asia — 
producing many of the elements of co:n- 
nierce — mild and healthy in its climate — 
and becoming, as it naturally will, a tho- 
roughfare for the East India and China 
trade. 

, Turning our faces once more eastward, 
on the morning of the 27th we left the Utah 
lake, and continued ibr two days to ascend 
' the Spanish fork, whicli is dispersed in nu- 
merous branches among very rugged moun- 
tains, which afford few passes, and render a 
familiar acquaintance with them necessary 
to the traveller. The stream can scarcely 
be said to have a valley, the mountains rising 
often abruptly from the water's edge ; but a 
good trail facilitated our travelling, and there 
were frequent bottoms, covered with excel- 
lent grass. The streams are prettily and 
variously wooded ; and everywhere the 
mountain shows grass and timber. 

At our encampment on the evening of the 
28th, near the head of one of the branches 
we had ascended, strata of bituminous lime- 
. stone were displayed in an escarpment on the 
river bluffs, in which were contained a vari- 
ety of fossil shells of new species. 

It will be remembered, that in crossing 
this ridge about 120 miles to the northward 
in August last, strata of fossiliferous rock 
were discovered, which have been referred 
to the oolitic period ; it is probable that 
these rocks also belong to the same forma- 
tion. 

A few miles from this encampment we 
reached the bed of the stream ; and cross- 
ing, by an open and easy pass, the dividing 
ridge which separates the waters of the 
Great Basin from those of the Colorado, 
we reached the head branches of one of its 
larger tributaries, which, from the decided 
color of its waters, has received the name 
of White river. The snows of the moun- 
tains were now beginning to melt, and all 
;the little rivulets were running by in rivers, 
and rapidly becoming difficult to ford. Con- 
tinuing a few miles up a branch of White 
river, we crossed a dividing ridge between 
its waters and tlirtse of the Uintah. The 
approach to the pass, which is the best 
known to Mr. Walker, was somewhat diffi- 
cult for packs, and impracticable for wag- 
-cns — all the streams being shut in by narr 



row ravines, and the narrow trail along the 
steep hill sides allov^ing the passage of only 
one anitnal at a time. From the summit we 
had a fine view of the snowy Bear River 
range ; and there were still remaining beds 
of snow on the cold sides of the hills near 
the pass. We descended by a narrow ra- 
vine, in which was rapidly gathered a little 
branch of the Uintah, and halted to noon 
about 1,500 feet below the pass, at an ele- 
vation, by the boiling, point, of 6,900 feet 
above the sea. 

The next day we descended along the 
river, and about noon reached a point where 
three forks come together. Fording one of 
these with sdme difficulty, we continued up 
the middle branch, which, from the color of 
its waters, is named the Red river. The few 
passes, and extremely rugged nature of the 
country, give to it great strength, and secure 
the Utahs from the intrusion of their ene- 
mies. Crossing in the afternoon a some- 
what broken highland, covered in places 
with fine grasses, and with cedar on the hill 
sides, we encamped at evening on another 
tributary to the Uinta/i, called the Duchesne 
fork. The water was very clear, the stream 
not being yet swollen by the melting snows ; 
and we forded it without any difficulty. It 
is a considerable branch, being spread out 
by islands, the largest arm being about a 
hundred feet wide ; and the name .it bears 
is probably that of some old French trap- 
per. 

The next day we contintied down the 
river, which we were twice obliged to cross ; 
and, the vt-ater having risen during the night, 
it was almost everywhere too deep to be 
forded. After travelling about sixteen 
miles, we encamped again on the left bank. 

I obtained here an occiiltation of ^ Scor- 
pii at the dark limb of the moon, which 
gives for the longitude of the place 112° 
18' 30", and the latitude 40^ 18' 53". 

June 1. — We left to-day the Duchesne 
fork, and, after traversing a broken country 
for about sixteen miles, arrived at noon at 
another considerable branch, a river of great 
velocity, to which the trappers have im- 
properly given the name of Lake fork. The 
name ajjplied to it by the Indians signifies 
great swiftness, and is the same which they 
use to express the speed of a racehorse. 
It is spread out in various channels over 
several hundred yards, and is- everywhere 
too deep and swift to be tbrded. At this 
season of the year, there is an uninterrupted, 
noise from the large rocks which are rolled 
along the bed. After infinite difficulty, and 
the delay of a day, we succeeded in getting 
the stream bridged, and got over with the 
loss of one of our animals. Continuing our 
route across a broken country, of which the 
higher parts were rocky and timbered with. 



174 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[le-l*. 



cedar, and the lower parts covered with 
good grass, we rea'-hed, on the afternoon of 
the 3d, the Uintah fort, a trading post be- 
longing to Mr. A. RouhiJeau, on the princi- 
pal fork of the Uintah river. We found the 
stream nearly as rapid and difficult as tlie 
Lake fork, divided into several channels, 
which were too broad to be bridged. With 
the aid of guides from tlie fort, we succeed- 
ed, with very great diiilculty, in fording it ; 
and encamped near .the fort, which is situ- 
ated a short di.stancc above the junction of 
two branches which make the river. 

By an immersion of the 1st satellite, 
(agreeing well with the result of the occul- 
tation observed at the Duchesne fork,) the 
longitude of the post is IC'J-^ 56' 42", the 
latitude 40o 27' 45". 

It has a motley garrison of Canadian and 
Spanish engages a.i\d hunters, with the usual 
number of Indian women. We obtained a 
small supply of sugar and coffee, with some 
dried moat and a cow, which was a very 
acceptable change from the pinoli on which 
wo had subsisted for some weeks past. I 
strengthened my party at (his place by the 
addition of Auguste Archambeau, an ex- 
cellent voyageur and hunter, belonging to 
the class of Carson and Godey. 

On the morning of tlie 5th we left the 
fort* and the Uintah river, and continued 
our road over a broken country, which af- 
forded, however, a rich addition to our bo- 
tanical collection ; and, after a march of 
25 mile:?, were again checked by another 
stream, called Ashley's fork, where we 
were detained until noon of the next day. 

An immersion of the 2d satellite gave for 
this place a longitude of lOO'J 27' 07". the 
latitude by observation being 40'^ 28' 07". 

In the afternoon of the next day we suc- 
ceeded in finding a ford ; and, after travel- 
ling fifteen miles, encamped high up on the 
mountain side, where we found excellent 
and abundant grass, which we had not hith- 
erto 6cen. A new species of elymus^ which 
had a purgative and weakening eti'ect upon 
the animals, had occurred abundantly since 
leaving the fort. From this point, by ob- 
servation 7,300 feet above the sea, we had 
a view of the Colorado below, shut up 
amongst rugged mountains, and which is 
the recipient of all the streams we had been 
crossing since we pas.sed the rim of the 
Great Basin at the head of the Spanish 
fork. 

On the 7th wc had a plcas:ant but long 

* Thifl fort wa.s attacked and taken by a 
band of the Utah Indiaus fiince we paj58ed it ; 
aiul the mea of the garriftou kilied, the women 
carried ofl: Mr. R^ubidoau, a trader of St. 
Louis, was cb9«nt, ami go escaped the fate of 
the rest. 



day's journey, through beautiful little ▼&!• 
leys and a high mountain oountry, arriving 
about evening at the verge of a steep and 
rocky ravine, by which we descended to 
" Brown s hoU.'^ This is a place wxdl 
known to trappers in the country, where the 
canons through which the Colorado runs ex- 
pand into a narrow but pretty valley, about 
sixteen miles in leVigth. The river wao 
several hundred yards in breadth, swolle*! 
to the top of its banks, naar to which it wa« 
in many places fifteen to twenty feet deep. 
We repaired a skin boat which had been 
purchased at the fort, and, after a delay o{' a 
day, reached the opposite banks with much 
less delay than had b<;en encountered on tl»« 
Uintah waters. According to information, 
the lower end of the valley is the most 
eastern part of the Colorado ; and the lati 
tude of our encampment, which was oppo- 
site to the remains of an old fort on the left 
bank of the river, was 40^ 46' 27", and, by 
observation, the elevation above the sea 
5,150 feet. The bearing to the entrance 
of the canon below was south '2(P east. 
Here the river enters between lofty preci- 
pices of red rock, and the country below is 
said to assume a very rugged ciiaracter ; 
the river and its afSuents passing through 
canons which forbid all access to the water. 
This sheilercd little valley was formerly a 
favorite wintering ground for the trappers, 
as it afforded them suilicient pasturage for 
their animals, and the surrounding raaua- 
tains are well stocked with game. 

We surprised a tltick of moantain sheep ae 
we descended to the river, and our huntero 
killed several. The bottoms of a small 
stream cu!l<;d the Vermilion creek, whielt 
enters the left bank of the river a short dis- 
tance below our encampun^nt, were covered 
abundantly with F. v<^rnikulariji, and other 
chcnopodiacoous .shrubs. From the lowe." 
end of Brown's hole we issued by a remark- 
ably dry canon, fifty or sixty yards wide, 
and rising, as we advanced, to the height 
of six or eight hundred feet. Issuing froirj 
this, and cros.sing a small green valley, we 
entered another rent of the same nature, 
still narrower than the other, the rocks on 
cither .side rising in nearly vertical precipi- 
ces perhaps 1,500 feet in height. These 
places are mentioned, to give some idea of 
the country lower down on the Colorado, 
to which the trappers usually apply the 
name of a canon country. The canon 
opened upon a pond of water, where we 
halte<l to noon. Several flocks of mountain 
sheep were here among the rooks, which 
rung with volleys of small arm.s. In the 
afternoon we entered upon an ugly, barreu, 
and broken country, corresponding well with 
that we h»d traversed a few degrees north, 
on the same side of the Colorado. TIk< 



1844.} 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARxRATITE. 



175 



Vermilibn creek afford od us brackifih Avater 
and indifferent grass lor the night. 

A few scattered cedar trees v/ore the 
only improvement of the country on the fol- 
lowing day ; and at a little spring of bad 
u-ater, where we halted to noon, we had not 
even the shelter of these from the hot rays 
of the sun. At night we encamped in a fine 
grove of cotton-wood trees, on the banks of 
the Elk Head river, the principal fork of 
the Yampah river, commonly called by the 
trappers the Bear river. We made here a 
very strong cc^rdl and fort, and formed the 
camp into vigilant guards. The country we 
were now entering is constantly infested by 
war parties of the Sioux and other Indians, 
and is considered among the most dangerous 
war grounds in the Rocky mountains ; par- 
ties of whites having been repeatedly de- 
feated on this river. 

On the 11th we continued up the river, 
which is a considerable stream, fifty to a 
hundred yards in width, handsomely and 
continuously wooded with groves of the 
narrow-leaved cotton-wood, {populv^ an- 
gustifolia ;) with these were thickets of 
willow and grain du baxtf. The character- 
istic plant along the river is F. vermisula- 
ris, which generally covers the bottoms ; 
mingled with this, are saline shrubs and ar- 
temisia. The new variety of grass which 
we had seen on leaving the Uintah fort had 
now disappeared. The country on either 
tiide was sandy and. poor, scantily wooded 
with cedars, but the river bottoms aflbrd- 
od good pasture. Three antelopes were 
killed in the afternoon, and we encamped a 
little below a branch of the river, called St. 
Vrain'.s fork. A few miles above was the 
fort at which Frapp's party had been de- 
feated two years since ; and we passed dur- 
ing the day a place where Carson had been 
fired upon so close that one of the men had 
five bullets through his body. Leaving 
this river the next morning, we took our 
way across the hills, where every hollow 
had a spring of running water, with good j 
g-raj5s. 

Yesterday and to-day we have had before I 
our eyes the high mountains which divide 
the Pacific from the Mississippi waters : 1 
and entering here among the lower spurs, 
or foot hills of the range, the face of the 
country began t-o iip.prove with a magical 
rapidity. Not only the river bottoms, but 
the hills, were covered with grass ; and 
wnong the usual varied flora of the moun- 
tain region, these were occasionally blue 
with the showy bloom of a lupinu-s. In the 
course of the morning we had the first glad 
view of buflalo. and welcomed the appear- 
ance of two old bulls with as much joy as if 
they had been messengers from home ; and 
'jifixeu we descended to naon on St. Vrain'a 



fork, an affluent of Green river, the hunters 
brought in mountain sheep and the meat of 
two fat bulls. Fresh entrails in the river 
shov.'ed us that there were Indians above ; 
and, at evening, judging it unsafe to encamp 
in the bottoms, which were wooded only with 
willow thickets, we ascended to the spurs 
above, and forted strongly in a small aspen 
grove, near to which was a spring of cold 
water. The hunters killed two fine cows 
near the camp. A band of elk broke out of 
a neighboring grove ; antelopes were run- 
ning over the hills ; and on the opposite 
river plains, herds of buffalo were raising 
clouds of dust. The country here appeared 
more variously stocked with game than any 
part of the Rocky mountains we had visit- 
ed ; and its abundance is owing to the ex- 
cellent pasturage, and its dangerous char- 
acter as a war ground. 

June 13. — There was snow here near 
our mountain camp, and the morning was 
beautiful and cool. Leaving St. Train's 
fork, we took our way directly towards the 
summit of tiie dividing ridge. The bot- 
toms of the streams and level places were 
wooded with aspens ; and as we neared the 
summit, we entered again the piny region. 
We had a delightful morning's ride, the 
ground affording us an excellent bridle path, 
and reached the summit towards midday, at 
an elevation of 8,000 feet. With joy and 
exultation we saw ourselves once more on 
the top of the Rocky mountains, and beheld 
a little stream taking its course towards the 
rising sun. It was an aflluent of the Platte, 
called Punam''s fork, and we descended to 
noon upon it. It is a pretty stream, twenty 
yards broad, and bears the name of a trap- 
per who, some years since, was killed here 
by the Gros Ventre Indians. 

Issuing from the pines in the afternoon, 
we saw spread out before us the valley of 
the Platte, with the pass of the Medicine 
Butte beyond, and some of the Sweet Water 
mountains ; but a smoky haziness in the air 
entirely obscured the Wind River chain. 

We were now about two degrees south of 
the South Pass, and our course home would 
have been castwardly ; but that would have 
taken us over ground already examined, 
and therefore without the interest which 
would excite curiosity. Southwardly there 
were objects worthy to be explored, to wit : 
the approximation of the head waters of 
three different rivers — the Platte, the Ar- 
kansas, and the Grand River fork of the Rio 
Colorado of the gulf of California ; the Pass- 
es at the heads of these rivers ; and the 
tliree remarkable mountain coves, called' 
Parks, in which they took their rise. One 
of these Parks wa.s, of course, on the west- 
ern side of the dividing ridge ; and a visit 
to it would require us once more to cioss 



17& 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1844. 



the enimmit of the Rocky mountains to the 
west, and then to reeross to the east ; 
making, in all, with the transit we had just 
i^ccomplished, three crossings of that moun- 
tain in this section of its course. But, no 
matter. The coves, the heads of the rivers, 
the approximation of their waters, the prac- 
ticabihty of the mountain passes, and the 
locality of the three Parks, were all ob- 
jects of interest, and, although well known 
to hunters and trappers, were unknown to 
science and to history. We therefore 
changed our course, and turned up the val- 
ley of the Platte instead of going down it. 

We crossed several small affluents, and 
again made a fortified camp in a grove. 
The country had now become very beauti- 
ful — rich in water, grass, and game ; and to 
these were added the charm of scenery and 
pleasant weather. 

June 11. — Our route this morning lay 
along the foot of the mountain, over the 
long low spurs which sloped gradually down 
to the river, forming the broad valley of the 
Platte. The country is beautifully watered. 
Jn almost every hollow ran a clear, cool 
mountain stream ; and in the course of the 
morning we crossed seventeen, several of 
them being large creeks, forty to fifty feet 
wide, with a swift current, and tolerably 
deep. These were variously wooded with 
groves of aspen and cotton-wood, with wil- 
low, cherry, and other shrubby trees. Buf- 
falo, antelope, and elk, v.-ere frequent dur- 
ing the day ; and, in their abundance, the 
latter sometimes reminded us slightly of 
the Sacramento valley. 

We halted at noon on Potter's fork — a 
clear and swift stream, forty yards wide, 
and in many places deep enough to swim 
our animals ; and in the evening encamped 
on a pretty stream, where there were sever- 
al beaver dams, and many trees recently cut 
down by the beaver. We gave to this the 
name of Beaver Dam creek, as now they 
are becoming sufficiently rare to distinguish 
by their name the streams on which they 
are found. In this mountain they occurred 
more abundantly than elsewhere in all our 
journey, in which their vestiges had been 
scarcely seen. 

The next day we continued our journey 
up the valley, the country presenting much 
the same appearance, except that the grass 
was more scanty on the ridges, over which 
was spread a scrubby growth of sage ; but 
still the bottoms of the creeks were broad, 
and afforded good pasture grounds. We 
iiad an animated chase after a grizzly bear 
this morning, which we tried to lasso. Fu- 
entes threw the lasso upon his neck, but it 
slipped off, and he escaped into the dense 
thickets of the creek, into which we did not 
like to venture. Our course in the after- 



noon brought us to the main Platte river,^. 
here a handsome stream, with a uniform, 
breadth of seventy yards, except where 
widened by frequent islands. It w;is appa- 
rently deep, with a moderate current, and' 
wooded with groves of large willow. 

The valley narrowed as we ascended, and 
presently degenerated into a gorge, through 
which the river passed as through a gate. 
We entered it, and found ourselves in the 
New Park — a beautiful circular valley of. 
thirty miles diameter, walled in all round 
with snowy mountains, rich with water and 
with grass, fringed with pine on the moun- 
tain sides below the snow line, and a para- 
dise to all grazing animals. The Indiaa 
name for it signifies " cow lodge,'" of which 
our own may be considered a translation ; 
the enclosure, the grass, the water, and the 
herds of buffalo roaming over it, naturally 
presenting the idea of a park. We halted 
for the night just within the gate, and ex- 
pected, as usual, to see herds of buffalo , 
but an Arapahoe village had been before 
us, and not one was to be seen. Latitude 
of the encampment 40° 52' 44". Elevation 
by the boiling point 7,720 feet. 

It is from this elevated cove, and from the 
gorges of the surrounding mountains, and. 
some lakes within their bosoms,. that the 
Great Platte river collects its first waters,, 
and assumes its first form ; and certainly no 
river could ask a more beautiful origin. 

June 16. — In the morning wc pursued 
our way through the Park, following a 
principal branch of the Platte, and crossing, 
among many .smaller ones, a bold stream,, 
scarcely fordable, called Lodge Pole fork, 
and which issues from a lake in the moun- 
tains on the right, ten miles long. In the 
evening we encamped on a small stream,, 
near the upper end of the Park. Latitude 
of the camp 40^ 33' 22". 

June 17. — We continued our way among 
the waters of the Park, over the foot hills 
of the bordering mountains, where we 
found gfood pasturage, and surprised and. 
killed some buffalo. We fell into a broad 
and excellent trail, made by buffalo, where 
a wagon would pass with ease ; and, in the 
course of the morning, we crossed the 
summit of the Rocky mountains, through a 
pass which was one of the most beautiful 
we had ever seen. The trail led among 
the aspens, through open grounds, richly 
covered with grass, and carried us over an 
elevation of about 9,000 feet above the level 
of the sea. 

The country appeared to great advantage 
in the delightful summer weather of the 
mountains, which we still continued to en- 
joy. Desoending from the pass, we found 
ourselves again on the western waters ; and 
halted to noon on the edge of anotlier 



1844] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



177 



mountain valley, called the Old Park, in 
which is formed Gri^nd river, one of the 
principal branches of the Colorado of Cali- 
fornia. We were now moving with some 
caution, as, from the trail, we found the 
Arapahoe village had also passed this way. 
As we were coming out of their enemy's 
country, and this was a war ground, we 
were desirous to avoid them. After a long 
afternoon's march, we halted at night oa a 
small creek, tributary to a main fork of 
Grand river, which ran through this portion 
of the valley. The appearance of the 
coimtry in the Old Park is interesting, 
though of a different character from the 
New ; instead of being a con)parative plain, 
it is more or less broken into hills, and sur- 
rounded by the high mountains, timbered 
on the lower jiarts with quaking asp and 
pines. 

June 18. — Our scouts, who were as usual 
ahead, made from a butte this morning the 
signal of Indians, and we rode up in time to 
meet a party of about 30 Arapahoes. They 
were men and women going into the hills — 
the men for game, the women for roots — 
and informed us that the village was en- 
camped a few miles above, on the main 
fork of Grand river, which passes through 
the midst of the valley. I made them the 
usual presents ; but they appeared disposed 
to be unfriendly, and galloped back at speed 
to the village. Knowing that we had 
trouble to e.xpect, I descended immediately 
mto the bottoms of Grand river, which 
were overflowed in places, the river being 
up, and made the best encampment the 
ground aftbrded. We had no time to build 
a fort, but found an open place among the 
willows, which was defended by the river 
on one side and the overflowed bottonrs on 
the other. We had scarcely made our ievi 
• preparations, when about 200 of them ap- 
peared on the verge of the bottom, mount- 
ed, painted, and armed for war. We 
planted the American flag between us ; and a 
short parley ended in a truce, with some- 
thing more than the usual amoimt of pres- 
ents. About 20 Sioux were with them — 
one of them an old chief, who had always 
been friendly to the whites. He informed 
me that, before coming down, a council 
had been held at the village, in which the 
greater part had declared for attacking 
us — we had come from their enemies, to 
whom we had doubtless been carrying as- 
sistance in arms and ammunition ; but his 
own party, with some few of the Arapahoes 
yjho had seen us the previous year in the 
plains, opposed it. It will be remembered 
that it is customary for this people to at- 
tack the trading parties which they meet 
in this region, considering all whom they 
meet on the western side of the mountains 
12 



to be their enemies. They deceived me 
into the belief that I should find a ford at 
their village, and I could not avoid ac- 
companying them ; but put several sloughs 
between us and their village, and forted 
strongly on the banks of the river, which 
was everywhere rapid and deep, and over 
a hundred yards in breadth. The camp 
was generally crowded with Indians ; and 
tiiough the baggage was carefully watched 
and covered, a number of things were 
stolen. 

The next morning we descended the 
river for about eight miles, and halted a 
short distance above a canon, through which 
Grand river issues from the Park. Here 
it was smooth and deep, 150 yards in 
breadth, and its elevation at this point 
6,700 feet. A frame lor the boat being 
very soon made, our baggage was ferried 
across ; the horses, in the mean time, swim- 
ming over. A southern fork of Grand 
river here makes its junction, nearly op- 
posite to the branch by which we had en- 
tered the valley, and up this we continued 
for about eight miles in the afternoon, and 
encamped in a bottom on the left bank, 
which aflbrded good grass. At our en- 
campment it was 70 to 90 yards in breadth, 
sometimes widened by islands, and separa- 
ted into several channels, with a very swift 
current and bed of rolled rocks. 

On the 20th we travelled up the left bank, 
with the prospect of a bad road, the ti-aii 
here taking the opposite side ; but the 
stream was up, and nowhere fordable. A 
piny ridge of mountains, with bare rocky 
peaks, was on our right all the day, and a 
snowy mountain appeared ahead. We 
crossed many foaming torrents with rocky 
beds, rushing down to the river ; and in the 
evening made a strong fort in an aspen 
grove. The valley had already become 
very narrow, shut up more closely in 
densely timbered mountains, the pines 
sweeping down the verge of the bottoms. 
The coq de prairie {tetrao eiirophasiaiius) 
was occasionally seen among the sage. 

Vv'"e saw to-day the returning trail of an 
Arapahoe party which had been sent from 
the village to look for Utahs in the Bayou 
Salade, (South Park ;) and it being probable 
that they would visit our camp with the 
desire to return on horseback, we were 
more than usually on the alert. 

Here the river diminished to 35 yards, 
and, notwithstanding the number of affluents 
we had crossed, was still a large stream, 
dashing swiftly by, with a great continuous 
fall, and not yet fordable. We had a de- 
lightful rids along a good trail among the 
fragrant pines ; and the appearance of buf- 
falo in great numbers indicated that there 
were Indians in the Bayou Salade, (South 



IT8 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1844. 



Park,) by whom they were driven out. We 
halted to noon under the shade of the pines, 
and the weather was most deli;rhtful. The 
•country was literally alive with buffalo ; 
and the continued echo of the hunter's 
rifles on the other side of the river for a 
moment made me uneaj^y, thinking perhaps 
tlicy were enp^aped with Indians ; but in a 
short time they came into camp with the 
meat of seven fat cows. 

During the earlier pan of the day's ride, 
Tthc river had been merely a narrow ravine 
between high pinv niountains, backed on 
both sides, but particularly on the west, by 
aline of snowy ridges; but, after several 
hours" ride, the stream opened out into a 
valley with pleasant bottoms. In the after- 
jioon the rivev forked into three apparently 
equal streams; broad buflalo trails Icudnig 
up the left hand, and the middle branch, in- 
dicating pood passes over the mountains ; 
but up the right-hand branch, (which, in 
the object of descending from the mbuntnin 
by the main head of the Arkansa.s, 1 was 
most desirous to follow.) there was no sign 
of a buffalo trace. Apprehending from this 
reason, and the character of the mountains, 
which are known to be extremely rugged, 
that the right-hand branch led to no pass, I 
proceeded up the middle branch, which 
formed a flat valley bottom between timber- 
ed ridges on the left and snowy mountains 
on the right, terminating in large butlcs of 
naked rock. The trail was good, and the 
country interesting ; and at nightfall we 
encamped in an open place among the pines, 
where we built a strong fort. The moun- 
tains exhibit their usual varied growth of 
flowers, and at this place I noticed, among 
others, thermopsis montana, whose bright 
yellow color makes it a showy plant. This 
has been a characteristic in many parts of 
the country since reaching the Uintah 
waters. With fields of iris were aquUcs^ia 
raerulea, violets, esparcctle, and straw- 
berries. 

At dark, we perceived a fire in the edge 
of the pines, on the opposite side of the val- 
ley. We liad evidently not been discovered, 
and, at the report of a gun, and the blav.e of 
fresh fuel whicii was heapod on our fire.s, 
those of the strangers were instantly ex- 
tinguished. In the morning, they were 
I'ound to be a party of six trajjpers, who liad 
ventured out among the mountains after 
btiiiver. They informed us that two of the 
number with which they had started had 
lK3cn already killed by the Indians — one of 
tiiem but a few days since — by the Arapa- 
hocs we had lately seen, who had found 
him alone at a camp on this river, and car- 
ried off his traps and animals. As they 
were desirous to join us, tho hunters return- 
ed ivith them to their encampment, and wo 



continued up the valley, in which the stream 
rapidly diminished, breaking into small trib- 
utaries—every hollow affording water. At 
our noon halt, tho hunters joined us veith 
the trappers. While preparing to start 
from their encampment, they found them- 
selves suddenly surrounded by a party of 
Arapahoes, who informed them that their 
scom's had discovered a large Utah village 
in the Bayou Salade, (.South Park,) and 
that a large war party, consisting of almost 
every man in the village, except those who 
were too old to go to war, were going over 
to attack them. The main body had as- 
cended the left fork of the river, which af- 
forded a better pass than the branch wo were 
on ; and this party had followed our trail, in 
order that we might add our force to theirs. 
Carson informed them that we were too far 
ahead to turn back, but would join theni in 
the bayou ; and the Indians went off appa- 
rently satisfied. By the temperature of 
boiling water, our elevation here was 10,430 
feet; and still the pine forest continued, 
and grass was good. 

In the afternoon, we continued our road — 
occasionally through open pines, with a very 
gradual ascent. We surprised a herd of 
buffalo, enjoying the shade at a small lake 
among the pines ; and they made the dry 
branches crack, as they broke through the 
woods. In a ride of about three-quarters of 
an hour, and having ascended perhaps 800 
feet, we reached the summit ov the divid- 
ing RiDOE, which would thus have an esti- 
mated height of 11,200 feet. Here the 
river spreads itself into sm.all branches and 
springs, heading nearly in the summit of the 
ridge, which is very narrow. Immediately 
below us was a green valley, through which 
ran a stream ; and a short distance opposite 
rose snowy mountains, whose summits were 
formed into peaks of naked rock. Wo 
soon afterwards satisfied ourselves that im- 
mediately beyond these mountains was the 
main branch of the Arkansas river — most 
probably heading directly with the little 
stream below us, which gathered its waters 
in the snowy mountains near by. Wescrip- 
tions of the rugged character of the moun- 
tains around the head of the Arkansas, 
which their appearance amply justified, de- 
terred me from making any attempt to reach 
it, which would have involved a greater 
length of time than now remained at my dis- 
j>osal. 

In about a quarter of an hour, we de- 
scended from the summit of tho Pass into 
the creek below, our road having been very 
much controlled and interrupted by tho pines 
and springs on the mountain side. Turn- 
ing up the stream, we encamped on a bot- 
tom of good grass uear its head, which 
gathers its waters in the dividing crest of tho 



1«44.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



I7» 



Rocky roonntains, and, according to the best 
iDformation we could obtain, sepamted only 
by the rocky wall of the ridge fiom t!ie head 
of the main Arkansas river. By the obser- 
vations of tlic evening, the latitude of our 
encampment was S'j-^ 20' 24", and south of 
■which, therefore, is the head of the Arkan- 
sas river. The stream on which we had 
encampe<l is the head of either the Fonia'me- 
qui-bouity a branch of the Arkansas, or the 
remotest head of the south fork of the 
Platte ; as which, you will find it laid down 
on the map. But dcscendincj it only through 
a portion of its course, we Jiave not been 
able to settle this point satisfactorily. 

In tfie evening, a hand of buHalo furnished 
a little excitement, hy chargiuff through the 
camp. 

On the following day, we descended the 
stream by an excellent bufl'alo trail, along 
the open grassy bottom of the river. On 
oar right, the bayou was Iwrdered by a 
mountainous range, creeted with rocky and 
naked peaks ; and bolow, it had a beautiful 
park-like character of pretty level prairies, 
interspersed among low spurs, wooJcd 
openly with pine and quaking asp, contrast- 
ing well with 'the denser pines which swept 
around on the mountain .sides. Descending 
always the valley of the stream, towards 
noon we descried a mounted party dosi^end- 
ing the point of a spur, and. judging them to 
be Arapahoes — who, defeated or victorious, 
were equally dangerous to us, and with 
whom a fight would be inevitable — we hur- 
ried to post ourselves as strongly as pos.sible 
on some willow islands in the river. We 
had scarcely halted when tlicy arrived, 
proving to be a party of Utah wo?iie», who 
told us that on the other side of the ridge 
their village was fighting with the Arapa- 
hoes. As soon as they had given us tiiis in- 
formation, they filled the air with cries and 
lamentations, which made us understand 
that some of their chiefs had been killed. 

Extending along the river, directl}- ahead 
of us, was a low piny ridge, leaving be- 
tween it and the stream a small open bottom, 
on which the Utahs had very injudiciously 
placed their village, which, according to the 
women, numbered about 300 warriors. Ad- 
vancing in the cover of the pines, the Ara- 
pahoes, about daylight, charged into the vil- 
lage, driving oft" a great number of their 
horses, and killing four men ; among them, 
the principal chief of the village. They 
drove the horses perhaps a mile beyond the 
village, to the end of a hollow, where they 
had previously forted at the edge of the 
pines. Here the Utahs had instantl)' at- 
tacked them in turn, and, according to the 
report of the women, were getting rather 
the best of the day. The women pressed 
us eagerly to join with their people, aud 



would immediately have provided ns with 
the best horses at the village ; but it was 
not for us to interfere in such a conflict. 
Neither party were our friends, or under our 
protection ; and each was ready to prey up- 
on us that could. But we could not help 
feeling an unusual excitement at being with- 
in a few hundred yards of a fight, in whicii 
500 men were closely engaged, and hearing 
the sharp cracks of their rifles. We were 
in a bad position, and subject to be attacked 
in it. Either party which we might meet, 
victorious or defeated, was certain to fall 
upon us ; and, gearing up immediately, wo 
kept close along the pines of the ridge, hav- 
ing it between us and the village, and keep- 
ing the scouts on the summit, to give ua 
notice of the approach of Indians. As we 
passed by the village, which was immedi- 
ately below us, horsemen were galloping to 
and ifo, and groups of people v/erc gathered 
around those v/ho were wounded and dead, 
and who were being brought in from the 
field. We continued to press on, and, cross- 
ing another fork, which came in from the 
right, after having made fifteen miles from 
the village, fortified ourselves strongly in 
the pines, a short distance from the river. 

During the afternoon, Pike's Peak had 
been plainly in view before us. and, from 
our encampment, bore N. Sl° E. by com- 
pass. This was a familiar object, and it 
had for us the face of an old friend. At its 
foot were the springs, where we had spent 
a pleasant day in coming out. Near it were 
the habitations of civilized men ; and it 
overlooked the broad smooth plains, which 
promised us an ea.sy journey to our home. 

The next day we left the river, which 
continued its course towards Pike's Peak ; 
and taking a southeasterly direction, in 
about ten nsilus we crossed a gentle ridge, 
and, issuing from the South Park, found 
ourselves involved among the broken .spurs 
of the mountains which border the grea* 
prairie plains. Although broken and ex- 
tremely rutjged, the country was very inter- 
esting, being well watered by numerous af- 
fluents to the Arkansas river, and covered 
with grass and a variety of trees. The 
streams, which, in the upper part of their 
course, ran through grassy and open hol- 
low.s, after a few miles all descended iutO' 
deep and impraclicable canons, through 
which they found their way to the Arkan- 
sas valley. Here the bullalo trails we had 
followed were dispersed among the hills, or 
crossed over into the more open valleys of 
other streams. 

During the day cur road was fatiguing 
and difficult, reminding us much, by its steep 
and rocky character, of our travelling the 
year before among the Wind river moun- 
. tains ; but always at night we found some 



180 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[1814. 



grassy bottom, which afforded us a pleasant 
camp. In the deep seclusion of these lit- 
tle streams, we found always an abundant 
pasturage, and a wild luxuriance of plants 
and trees. Aspens and pines were the pre- 
vailing timber ; on the creeks, oak was fre- 
quent ; but the narrow-leaved cotton-wood, 
(populus angustifolias) of unusually large 
size, and seven or eiglit feet in circumfer- 
ence, was the principal tree. With these 
were mingled a variety of shrubby trees, 
which aided to make the ravines almost im- 
penetrable. 

After several days' laborious travelling, 
we succeeded in extricating ourselves from 
the mountains, and on the morning of the 
•28th encamped immediately at their foot, 
on a handsome tributar}' to the Arkansas 
river. In the afternoon we descended the 
.«fream, winding our way along the bottoms, 
which were densely wooded with oak, and 
in the evening encamped near the main 
river. Continuing tlic next day our road 
along the Arkansas, and meeting on the 
way a war party of Arapahoe Indians, (who 
had recently been committing some out- 
rages at Bent's fort, killing stock and dri- 
ving off horses,) we arrived before sunset at 
the Pueblo, near the mouth of the Fontame- 
qui-houit river, where we had the pleasure 
to find a number of our old acquaintances. 
The little settlement appeared in a thriving 
condition ; and in the interval of our ab- 
sence another had been established on the 
river, some thirty miles above. 

June .30. — Our cavalcade moved rapidly 
down the Arkansas, along the broad road 
which follows the river, and on the 1st of 
July we arrived at Bent's fort, about 70 
miles below the mouth of the Fontaiiie-'jui- 
bouit. As we emerged into view from the 
groves on the river, wo were saluted with a 
display of the national flag and repeated 
discharges from the guns of the fort, where 
we were received by Mr. George Bent with 
a cordial welcome and a friendly hospitality, 
in the enjoyment of which we spent several 
very agreeable days. We were now in the 
region where our mountaineers were accus- 
tomed to live ; and all the dangers and dif- 
ficulties of the road being considered past, 
four of them, including Carson and Walker, 
remained at the fort. 

On the 5th we resumed our journey down 
the Arkansas, travelling along a broad wag- 
on road, and encamped about twenty miles 
below the fort. On the way we met a very 
large village of Sioux and Cheyenne In- 
dians, who, with the Arapahoes, were re- 
turning from the crossing of the Arkansas, 
where they had been to meet the Kioway 
and Camanche Indians. A few days previ- 



fort on tlie Smoky Hill river, losing in the 
affair several of their own people. They 
were desirous that we should bear a pacific 
message to the Delawares on the frontier, 
from whom they expected retaliation ; and 
we passed throuirh them without any diffi- 
culty or delay. Dispersed over the plain in 
scattered bodies of horsemen, and family 
groups of women and children, with dog 
trains carrying baggage, and long lines of 
pack horses, their appearance was i)ictu- 
resque and imposing. 

Agreeably to your instructions, which re- 
quired me to complete, as far as practica- 
ble, our examinations of the Kansas, I left 
at this encampment the Arkansas river, 
taking a northeasterly direction across the 
elevated dividing grounds which separate 
that river from the waters of the Platte. 
On the 7th we crossed a large stream, about 
forty yards wide, and one or two feet deep, 
flowing with a lively current on a sandy 
bed. The discolored and muddy appear- 
ance of the water indicated that it proceed- 
ed from recent rains ; and we are inclined 
to consider this a brahch of the Smoky Hill 
river, although, possibly, it may be the Paw- 
nee fork of the Arkansas. Beyond this 
stream we travelled over high and level 
prairies, halting at small ponds and holes of 
water, and using for our fires the bois de 
vache, the country being without timber. 
On the evening of the 8th we encamped 
in a cotton-wood grove on the banks of a 
sandy stream bed, where there was water in 
holes sufficient for the camp. Here several 
hollows, or dry creeks with sandy beds, 
met together, forming the head of a stream 
which afterwards proved to be the Smoky 
Hill fork of the Kansas river. 

The next morning, as we were leaving 
our encampment, a number of Arapahoe In- 
dians were discovered. They belonged to 
a war party which had scattered over the 
prairie in returning from an expedition 
against the Pawnees. 

As we travelled down the valley, water 
gathered rapidly in the sandy bed from ma- 
ny little tributaries ; and at evening it had 
become a handsome stream, fifty to eighty 
feet in width, with a lively current in small 
channels, the water being principally dis- 
persed among quicksands. 

Gradually enlarging, in a few days' march 
it became a river eighty yards in breadth, 
wooded with occasional groves of cotton- 
wood. Our road was generally over level 
uplands bordering the river, which were 
closely covered with a sward of buffalo 
grass. 

On the 10th we entered again the buffalo 
range, where we had found these animals 



ous they had massacred a yjarty of fifteen I so abundant on our outward journey, and 
Delawares, whom they had discovered in a i halted for a day among numerous herds, hi 



31844.] 



CAPT. FREMONT'S. NARRATIVE. 



181 



order to make a provision of meat sufficient 
to carry us to the frontier. 

A few days afterwards, we encamped, in 
a pleasant evening, on a high river prairie, 
the stream heing less than a hundred yards 
•'broad. During the night we had a succes- 
sion of thunder storms, with heavy and con- 
tinuous rain, and towards morning the water 
suddenly burst over the banks, flooding the 
bottoms, and becoming a large river, five or 
six hundred yards in breadth. The dark- 
ness of the night and incessant rain had 
concealed from the guard the rise of the 
water ; and the river broke into the camp 
so suddenly, that the baggage was instantly 
covered, and all our perishable collections 
almost entirely ruined, and the hard labor 
of many months destroyed in a moment. 

On the 17th we discovered a large village 
of Indians encamped at the mouth of a 
handsomely wooded stream on the right 
bank of the river. Readily inferring, from 
the nature of the encampment, that they 
were Pawnee Indians, and confidently ex- 
pecting good treatment from a people who 
receive regularly an annuity from the Gov- 
ernment, we proceeded directly to the vil- 
lage, where we found assembled nearly all 
the Pawnee tribe, who were now returning 
from the crossing of the Arkansas, where 
they had met the Kioway and Camanche 
Indians. We were received by them with 
the unfriendly rudeness and characteristic 
insolence which they never fail to display 
whenever they find an occasion for doing so 
with impunity. The little that remained 
of our goods was distributed among them, 
but proved entirely insufficient to satisfy 
their greedy rapacity ; and, after some de- 
lay, and considerable difficulty, we succeed- 
■cd in extricating ourselves from the village, 
and encamped on the river about fifteen 
miles below.* 

The country through which we had been 
travelling since leaving the Arkansas river, 
for a distance of 260 miles, presented to the 
eye only a succession of far-stretching green 
prairies, covered with the unbroken verdure 
of the buffalo grass, and sparingly wooded 
along the streams with straggling trees and 
-occasional groves of cotton-wood ; but here 
the country began perceptibly to change its 
.character, becoming a more fertile, wooded, 
and beautiful region, covered with a profu- 
•sion of grasses, and watered with innumera- 
ble little streams, which were wooded with 
oak, large elms, and the usual varieties of 

* In a recent report to the department, from 
Major Wharton, who visited the Pawnee vil- 
lages with a military force some months after- 
wards, it is stated that the Indians had intended 
to attack our party during the night we remain- 
ed at this encampment, but were prevented by 
ihe interposition of the Pawnee Loups. 



timber common to the lower course of the 
Kansas river. 

As we advanced, the country steadily 
improved, gradually assimilating itself in 
appearance to the northwestern part of the 
State of Missouri. The beautiful sward of 
the buffalo grass, which is regarded as the 
best and most nutritious found on the prai- 
ries, appeared now only in patches, being 
replaced by a longer and coarser grass, 
which covered the face of the country lux- 
uriantly. The difference in the character 
of the grasses became suddenly evident in 
the weakened condition of our animals, 
which began sensibly to fail as soon as we 
quitted the buffalo grass. 

The river preserved a uniform breadth 
of eighty or a hundred yards, with broad 
bottoms continuously timbered with large 
cotton-wood trees, among which were in- 
terspersed'a few other varieties. 

While engaged in crossing one of the nu- 
merous creeks which frequently impeded 
and checked our way, sometimes obliging 
us to ascend them for several miles, one of 
the people (Alexis Ayot) was shot through 
the leg by the accidental discharge of a rifle 
— a mortifying and painful mischance, to be 
crippled for life by an accident, after having 
nearly accomplished in safety a long and 
eventful journey. He was a young man of 
remarkably good and cheerful temper, and 
had been among the useful and efficient men 
of the party. 

After having travelled directly along its 
banks for two hundred and ninety miles, we 
left the river, where it bore suddenly off in 
a northwesterly direction, towards its junc- 
tion with the Republican fork of the Kan- 
sas, distant about sixty miles ; and, continu- 
ing our easterly course, in about twenty 
miles we entered the wagon road from Santa 
Fe to Independence, and on the last day of 
July encamped again at the little town of 
Kansas, on the banks of the Missouri river. 

During our protracted absence of fourteen 
months, in the course of w hich we had ne- 
cessarily been expos(/d to great varieties of 
weather and of climate, no one case of sick- 
ness had ever occurred among us. 

Here ended our land journey ; and the 
day following our arrival, we found our- 
selves on board a steamboat rapidly gliding 
down the broad Missouri. Our travel-worn 
animals had not been sold and dispersed 
over the country to renewed labor, but were 
placed at good pasturage on the frontier, 
and are now ready to do their part in the 
coming expedition. 

On the 6th of August vi-e arrived at St. 
Louis, where the party was finally disband- 
ed ; a great number of the men having their 
homes in the neighborhood. 

Andreas Fuentes also remained here, hav- 



im 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



[iB44. 



ittg readily found cmploymont for the win- 
ter, arxi is one of the men engaged to ac- 
company nie the present year. 

Pablo llernaujez rem.iins in the family 
of Senator Benton, where he is well taken 
care of, and cDnciliate.s trood will hy his do- 
cility, intelligence, and amiability. General 
Almonte, the Mexican minister at Wash- 
ington, to wliom he was of course made 
known, kindly offered to take charge of 
him, and to carry him back to Mexico ; but 
the. boy preferred to remain where he was 
until he got an education, for which he 
shows equal ardor and aptitude. 

Our Chinook Indian bad his wish to see 



the whites fully gratified. He accompanied 
me to Washington, and, after remaining 
several months at the Columbia collc^, waij 
sent by the Indian department to Phiia<i^ 
phia, where, among other things, he Icarued 
to read and write well, and speak the Eng 
lish language with some fluency. 

He will accompany me in a few days it) 
the frontier of Missouri, whence he will be 
sent with some one of the emigrant compa- 
nies to the village at the Dalles of the Co- 
lumbia. 

Very respectfully, your obedient scrvoal, 
J. C. FREMONT, 
Bt. Copt. Topi. Engineers. 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 



les 



TABLE OF DISTANCES 



THE ROAD TRAVELLED BY THE EXPEDITION IM 1843 AND 1844. 



OUTWARD JOURNEY. 



From Kmisas Landing to Fort Vancouver. 





ii 








> b 








k. ^ 


•«- c 






St) 


■*- s 




D&«e. 


«-g 




Localltiea 


Date. 


^ "S 




Localities. 




9 « 


§1 






«1 


a 2 






« ^__ 








e9 








.s'S 


1 § 






|3 


•S 5 




1«43. 


Miles. 


Miles. 




1843. 


Miles. 


Miles. 




May 29 


7 


7 




July 29 


6 


807 




90 


22 


29 




30 


24 


831 




31 


26 


55 




31 


30 


861 




lAina 1 


23 


78 




Aug. 1 


26 


887 




2 


22 


100 




2 


31 


918 


Mc-dicine Bow river. 


3 


23 


123 




3 


26 


944 




4 


18 


141 




4 


18 


962 


North fork. 


5 


19 


160 




6 


19 


981 




6 


14 


174 




7 


30 


1,011 




7 


8 


182 




8 


29 


1,040 




8 


5 


187 


Junction of Smoky 


9 


26 


1,066 


Sweet Water. 








Hill and Repub- 


10 


23 


1,089 










lican forks. 


11 


29 


1,118 




10 


1 


188 




12 


25 


1,143 




11 


34 


212 




13 


\^l 


1,152 


South pass. 


12 


28 


240 




1,167 




13 


18 


258' 




14 


25 


1,192 




14 


17 


275 




15 


29 


1,^1 


Green river, or Rio 


16 


91 


296 










Colorado. 


17 


14 


310 




16 


26 


1,247 




18 


23 


333 




17 


21 


1,268 




19 


18 


351 




18 


32 


1,300 




20 


26 


377 




19 


28 


1^28 




21 


27 


404 




20 


30 


1,358 




22 


26 


430 




21 


26 


1,384 




23 


26 


456 




22 


37 


1,421 




34 


34 


490 




23 


12 


1,433 




25 


26 


516 


Croesing of the Re- 


24 


22 


1,455 










publican. 


25 


8 


1,463 


Beer SpiTugs. 


26 


24 


540 




26 


21 


1,484 




27 


27 


567 




27 


21 


1,505 




28 


30 


597 




28 


27 


1,532 




29 


21 


618 




29 


17 


1.549 




30 


26 


644 


South fork. 


30 


19 


1,568 




iuly 1 


32 


676 




31 


26 


1,594 




2 


29 


705 




Sept 1 


22 


1,616 




3 


28 


733 




2 


17 


1,633 




4 


18 


751 


St. Vtain'a fort. 


3 


3 


1,636 


Mouth of Bear river. 


26 


4 


755 




4 


6 


1,642 




27 


26 


781 




5 


27 


1,669 




28 


20 


801 


I 


6 


25 


1,6&4 





1&4. 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 
TABLE OF DISTANCES— Continued. 





ii 


from 
nding. 












Date. 


"^■g 


gJS 


Localities. 


Date. 


S « 


C3 


Localities. 




rt 


" 2 






s « 


»i 






.-d 








B 


«rf CO 






■K'O 


'oa e 






M "O 


■fi s 








ow 






.i2 a. 


a^ 




1843. 


Miles. 


Milea. 




1843. 


Miles. 


3n7cs. 




Sept. 8 


20 


1,714 


Shore of the Salt 


Oct. 9 


24 


2,254 










lake. 


10 


2 


2,256 Fort Bois^. 


9 


8 


1,722 


Island in the SaU 


11 


20 


2,276 










lake. 


12 


27 


2,303 




in 


28 


1,750 




13 


20 


2,323 




12 


13 


1.763 




14 


22 


2,345 




1:3 


27 


1,790 






15 


26 


2.371 




14 


24 


1,814 






16 


13 


2,384 




15 


19 


1,833 






17 


21 


2,405 




1{) 


26 


1,859 






18 


20 


2,425 




17 


24 


l,8b3 






19 


21 


2,446 




18 


23 


1,906 


Fort Hall. 




20 


12 


2,458 




22 


12 


1,918 


I 


21 


5 


2,463 




24 


10 


1,928 


American falls on i 


22 


16 


2,479 


• 








Lewis's fork. | 


24 


18 


2,497 




25 


13 


1,941 




25 


IS 


2,515 




26 


17 


1,958 




26 


3 


2,518 1 Fort Nez Perc€, at 


27 


20 


1,976 










the mouth of Wa- 


28 


25 


2,003 










lahwalah river. 


. 29 


24 


2,027 




28 


19 


2,537 




30 


26 


2,053 




29 


19 


2,556 




Oct. 1 


16 


2,069 




30 


21 


2.577 




2 


29 


2,098 




31 


26 


2,603 




3 


16 


2,114 




Nov. 1 


23 


2,026 




4 


19 


2,133 







19 


2,645 




.") 


26 


2,159 




3 


17 


2,662 




6 


22 


2,181 




4 


14 


2,676 


Dalles. 


7 


23 


2.204 




6&.7 


90 


2,766 


Fort Vancouver. 


8 


26 


2,230 













HOMEWARD JOURNEY. 



From the Dalles to the Missouri river. 





2-S 


a 
i j2 


r^ — ^*t 




> b 

cd ^ 


S . 




Date. 




03 cd 

b 


Localities. 

i 


Date. 


si 

re 


© cd 
c '^ 


Localities. 


1843. 


Milcs. 


Miles. 




1843. 


Miles. 


Miles. 




Nov. 25 


12 


12 




Dec. 4 


9 


147 




26 


22 


34 




5 


11 


158 




27 


13 


47 


1 


6 


19 


177 




28 


21 


68 




1 


25 


202 




29 


21 


89 




8 


19 -^ 


221 




30 


10 


99 




9. 


14 


235 




Dec. i 


6 


105 




10 


15 


250 


TlsunalS lake. 


2 


11 


116 




12 


5 1 


255 




3 


22 


138 




13 


12 


267 


\ 



eAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 
TABLE OF DISTANCES— Continued. 



15^ 





1 ^ 


S . 








S . 
St 




Date. 




0) a 


Localities. 


Date. 


ll 


O CO 

go 


Local) tieff. 




S '^ 


S 0/ 






t: '*' 


03 Ji 








ft 




( 


CO 

V.J, 






1843. 


Miles. 


Miles. 




1844. 


Miles. 


Miles. 




"Doc. 14 


21 


288 




Feb. 21 


5 


1,006 




15 


21 


309 




22 


3 


1,009 




16 


9 


318 


Summer lake 


23 


5 


1,014 




17 


6 


324 




24 


12 


1,026 




18 


20 


344 




25 


14 


1,040 




19' 


21 


365 




26 


14 


1,054 




20 


26 


391 


Lake Abert. 


27 


1 


1,055 




,21 


6 


397 




• 28 


10 


1,065 




22 


29 


426 




Mar. 1 


6 


1,071 




23 


7 


433 




2&.3 


10 


1,08 J 




24 


13 


446 


Christmas lake. 


4 


7 


1,088 




25 


14 


460 




5 


20 


1,108 




26 


21 


481 




6 


34 


1.142 


Nueva Helvetia. 


27 


24 


505 




24 


16 


1,158 




28 


16 


521 




25 


• IB 


1,176 




29 


15 


536 




26 


21 


1,197 




30 


17 


553 




27 


42 


1,239 




31 


18 


571 




y 28 


17 


1.250 




1844. 








29 


8 


1,204 




Jan. 1 


20 


591 




■ April 1 


10 


1.274 




2 


25 


616 




3 


22 


1.296 




3 


7 


623 




4 


18 


1,314 




4 


7 


630 




5 


37 


1.351 




5 





632 




6 


15 


1.366 




6 


15 


647 


Great Boilinor spring. 


7 


50 


1,416 




9 


11 


6.58 




8 


6 


1,422 




10 


10 


668 




9 


31 


1,453 




11 


10 


678 




10 


40 


1.493 




12 


6 


684 


Pyramid lake. 


11 


24 


1,517 




13 


12 


696 




12 


15 


1,5.32 




14 


9 


705 




13 


27 


1,559 


Pass in tlie Sierra No- 


15 


12 


717 










vae! a. 


16 


18 


735 




14 


32 


1,591 




17 


22 


757 




15 


32 


1,623 




18 


8 


765 




17 


39 


1,662 




19 


18 


783 




18 


3 


1.665 




20 


5 


788 




19 


15 


1,680 




21 


24 


812 




20 


33 


1,713 


Spanish trail at Mo- 


32 


14 


826 






■ 




hahve river. 


23 


25 


851 




22 


20 


1.733 




=^^ , 


20 


871 




23 


33 


1,766 




25 1 


25 


896 




24 


8 


1,774 




27 , 


12 


908 




25 


25 


1,799 




28 ' 


12 


920 




27 


43 


1.842 




29 j 


7 


927 




28 


12 


1,854 




30 


11 


938 




29 


7 


1,861 




31 


26 


964 




30 


24 


1,885 




Feb. 2 


16 


980 




May 1 


15 , 


1,900 




3 


7 


987 




2 


12 


1,912 




4 


3 


990 




3 


18 


1.930 




7 


4 


994 




4 


57 


1,987 




8 


1 


9i75 




6 


18 


2,005 


Rio Virgen. 


10 


3 


998 




7 


10 


2,015 




20 


3 


1,001 


Summit of tire Sier- 


8 


18 


2.033 






• 




ra Nevada. 


9 


1 


2,034 





]|5tf 



CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 
TABLE OF DISTANCES— Continued. 





1^- 








r , 


1. 




Dato. 


si 




Lx>calitiee. 


Dato. 


§1 


go 


Localitioe. 




9 « 


d «D 






9 4> 


2 ~ 






S-rs 
















.2 «> 


q" 






■ — V 


q" 




1844. 


Miles. 


Miles. 




1844. 


Miles. 


Miles. 




May 10 


24 


2,058 




June 22 


15 


2,913 


Bayou Salade, (South 


11 


12 


2,070 










Park.) 


12 


14 


2,0S4 


Vegae de Santa Clara. 


23 


36 


2,949 




13 


15 


2,099 




24 


21 


2,970 




/ 15 


21 


2,120 




25 


21 


2,991 




16 


17 


2,137 




26 


11 


3,002 




17 


17 


2,154 




27 


10 


3,012 




19 


27 


2,181 




28 


21 


3,033 




20 


22 


2,203 




29 


30 


3,063 


PueUo, on tbe Arkaiv- 


21 


31 


2,234 










eas. 


22 


23 


2,257 




30 


37 


3,100 




23 


12 


2,269 


ScTJer river. 


July 1 


?3 


3,133 


Bent's fort 


24 


S3 


2.292 




5 


20 


3,153 




25 


32 


2,324 




6 


31 


3,184 




96 


9 


2 333 


Utah lak.0. 


7 


31 


3,215 




27 


22 


2.355 




8 


2« 


3,243 


Head-wator of Smo- 


28 


25 


2,380 










ky Hill fork of the 


29 


25 


2,405 










Kansas. 


30 


31 


2,436 




9 


27 


3,270 




31 


16 


2,452 




10 


28 


3,298 




J;a»e 1 


16 


2,4G8 




12 


24 


3,322 




2 


8 


2,476 




13 


30 


3,352 




3 


21 


2,497 


Uiutab fort. 


15 


10 


3,362 




5 


26 


2,523 




16 


23 


3;i85 




6 


15 


2,538 




17 


32 


3,417 




7 


30 


2,568 


Green river, (Brown's 


18 


24 


3,441 










hole.) 


19 


29 


3,470 




9 


36 


2,604 




20 


29 


3.499 




10 


30 


2,634 




21 


23 


3,522 




11 


30 


2,664 




22 


17 


3,539 




12 


26 


2,690 




23 


26 


3,565 




13 


26 


2,'? 16 




24 


22 


3,587 




14 


23 


2,739 




25 


19 


3.606 




15 


25 


2,764 


New Park. 


26 


24 


3.630 




16 


26 


2,790 




27 


18 


3,648 




17 


33 


2.823 


Old Park. 


28 


22 


3,670 




18 


13 


2,836 




29 


12 


3,682 




19 


16 


2,852 




30 


12 


3,694 




20 


27 


2,879 


^ 


31 


8 


3,702 


Kansas landing 


21 


19 


2,898 




Aug. I 


7 


3,709 


Missouri river. 



D. APPLETON Sf CO. kavejttst Published 



THE 



HISTORY 

OP 

OREGON AND CALIFORNIA, 

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SUPPLEMENT TO DR. URE'S DICTIONARY, 

D APPLETON & CO. HAVE JUST PUBLISHED, 

RECENT IMPROVEMENTS IN ARTS, MANUFACTURES, AND MINES ; 

Being a Supplement to his Dictionary. 

BY ANDREW URB, M. D., F. R. S., &.C., &c. 

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Amongst the many articles entirely new, and others treated at greater length in this supplement than in the former edi- 
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Acetic Acid— Alcohol— Arrow Root (its growth and pioperlics)— Artesian Wilis (with a notice of the successful 
labors of MM. Arago and Malot at Crenelle, near Paris)— Bavarian Beeb (" the mystery of brewing is more philosophically 
Ktudied and incomparably better understood in Munich than in London, and throughout Bavaria than in England") Biscuits 
(with a complete description, with figures, of the large Automatic Bakeries at Deptford and Portsmouth.) Bitumen (its uses 
and manufacture.) Bread (wiih an account of the French improvements, accompanied with plans of ovens.) Brick Mak- 
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provements.) Calomel. Calotvpe (a description of Mr. Fox Talbot's improvement on Photography.) Candles (anew pro- 
cess of the manufacture of) Caoutchouc (full information of the recent application of Caoutchouc to the arts, under Book- 
binding, Braiding Machine and Elastic Bands.) Chlorate of Potash. Chocolate (a now contribution from extensive ex- 
perimental researches.) Cofpee. Daguerreotype (an elaborate article descriptive of all the most recent improvements, ac- 
companied with illustrations.) Electro-Metallurgy (a full account, with illustrations, of this important application of sci- 
ence to the uses ol'lirc.) Enamelling (account of a recent patent.) Evaporation (a now patent for generating, purifying, 
and condensing steam) Fermentation (a useful companion to account of Bavaiian Beer.) Fuel (an elaborate series of 
experiments on the measurement of heat, and the qualities of different kinds of Coal.) Cas Light (this article contributed 
byan intelligent friend of Dr. Ure's may be considered as a standard treatise on the subject, it occupies twenty-four pages, and 
is illustrated with many elaborate cuts.) Gelatine (accompanied with illustrations.) Guano (a fall account of this impor 
tant article for the Agriculturist, from extensive experiments on samples of every description.) Hats. Illumination, Cost 
of, (a valuable article on the diffusion and economy of Light, with illustrations.) Iron and Smelting (description, v/ith fig- 
ures, of the best plans of the apparatus ""or the hot air blast, and for feeding the blast furnace with mine, limestone, and fuel.) 
Lamps (on the construction of Lamps for burning spirits of Turpentine otherwise Camphene ) Leather (somo observations 
on the process of Tanning.) Leather Morocco (its manufacture.) Leather Splitting (account of various modes with il- 
ustrations.) Malt (the quantity of malt consumed by the various breweries of London.) Metallic Analysis (recent eco- 
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count of the working of Minos, with their productions, in various parts of the world.) MusatJET (a safe and simple construc- 
tion of, with detailed cuts.) Oils (the manufacture of Seed Crushing Oil, now for the first time represented by a complete set 
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trations.) Photography (its process.) Potter's Oten (a new patent.) Prussiate of Potash (its manufacture, with illus- 
trations.) Puddling of Iron (a new plan of an economical furnace for converting cast iron into bar or malleable iron.) Sac- 
charometer (a new table pointing out the proportion of sugar, or the saccharine matter of malt, contained in the solution of 
any specific gravity. Silk (new analysis of.) Silver (the extraction of from lead.) Smoke-Pbetention (details of an un- 
exceptionable, simple and successful plan for effecting the consummation of so desirable an object ) Soda (new experiments.) 
Spinning (a short but systematic view of the admirable self-acting system, whereby all operations in a cotton factory ar J 
linked together in regular succession, and co-operate with little or no manual aid, toward turning out a perfect product.) 
Spirits (with a new table.) Starch (accompanied with a detailed illustration.) Steel (a new improvement, with cuts.) 
Still (with the most recent French improvements.) Sugar of Potatoes (fully investigated from professional resouroes.) 
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hibiting the nature and composition of the most celebrated mineral waters of Germany.) White Lead (description of a nriv 
patent.) Wood-Paving (descriptive of the best system.) Wood-Prf-serving (the system adopted by the most eminent engi- 
neers.) Zinc (recent improvements in the manufacture of this metal.) With an Appendix entitled Chemistry Simplifieo; 
A Guide to Practitioners in testin Alkalis, Acids, and Bleaching Substances, in several departments of tho Chemical Arts 

BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 
Recently Published, the fourth American from, the third London edition, 

A DICTIONARY 

OP 

ARTS, MANUFACTURES, AND MINES: 

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lury, and the piescnt state of peace and civilization. — Jltherueum. 

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